Dr. Li's areas of research interests include lignocellulose biorefining for biofuels and biochemicals; nanofibres and advanced biomaterials for flexible electronics and roll-to-roll processing; green and clean manufacturing technologies; state-of-the-art surface and nanoscale techniques; and pulp and paper manufacturing technologies. Dr. Li’s research has been strongly supported by Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)-Discovery, -Strategic, -CRD; Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF); New Brunswick Innovation Fund (NBIF); MatNet; and by a number of industry leaders such as Resolute Forest Products, Novozymes, Andritz, West Fraser, Paper Excellence.