Isaac Li

Dr. Isaac Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, with cross-appointments in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI). He holds the prestigious Canada Research Chair in Single-Molecule Biophysics & Mechanobiology (Tier 2) and is a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar.

Dr. Li received his BASc in Engineering Science, MASc in Biomedical Engineering, and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Toronto, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Center for the Physics of Living Cells. His research program focuses on developing tools to understand how cells physically interact with each other and their environment, with the goal of gaining mechanistic understandings of mechanobiology processes in disease pathology.

His research spans single-molecule biophysics, DNA-based smart biosensors, molecular machines, techniques for manipulating individual molecules and cells, and disease screening through extracellular vesicles. Dr. Li's laboratory has pioneered innovations in molecular tension probes, DNA-based catch bonds, and super-resolution imaging techniques that have advanced our understanding of cellular mechanics. His work bridges fundamental biophysics with clinical applications, particularly in cancer and immune cell biology.

• Canada Research Chair in Single-Molecule Biophysics & Mechanobiology (Tier 2)
• Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar
• Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award
• 2020 Curricular Innovation Award
• 2025 Early Career Investigator Award, Biophysical Society of Canada

Dr. Li serves as a graduate student supervisor and coordinates Honours Thesis and Directed Studies in the Department of Chemistry. His research program is supported by major funding from NSERC Discovery, New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Emience Fund, Mitacs, UBC, and BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF). He leads the Single Molecule Mechano-Biology Lab, where his team develops cutting-edge approaches to study cellular mechanics at unprecedented resolution.