Lijuan Li

Dr. Lijuan Li serves as Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), within the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. She joined CSULB in 1998 as Assistant Professor, advancing to Associate Professor in 2001 and full Professor in 2005 after prior appointments at McMaster University and the National Research Council of Canada.

Her educational journey began with a B.Sc. (Honours) from Jilin University (1983), followed by doctoral studies at McMaster University where she earned a Ph.D. in Organometallic Chemistry in 1992. Key milestones include her Visiting Scientist position at McMaster in 1987 and Research Associateship at Canada's Steacie Institute (1993-1995).

Dr. Li's research program investigates bioinorganic chemistry with emphasis on transition metal nitrosyl complexes, particularly non-heme iron systems, and their biological activities. Her work spans inorganic materials synthesis, organometallic chemistry, and industrial catalysts, utilizing NMR, EPR, IR, UV-vis spectroscopies, and electrochemical techniques. Current projects focus on mimicking biologically active iron nitrosyls through tailored ligand design to develop applications in cardiovascular therapy and cancer treatment.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals dominant themes in non-heme iron nitrosyl chemistry, metal-organic frameworks, and nanomaterials. Her work consistently bridges fundamental inorganic synthesis with practical applications in gas sensing, molecular storage, and biomedical materials, demonstrating interdisciplinary integration of spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and computational methods.

Her scientific contributions have been recognized with numerous awards including the Distinguished Faculty Scholarly & Creative Achievement Award (2010), CSULB Alumni Association Favourite Professor Award (2009), and College of Natural Sciences Research Excellence Award (2008). Additional honors reflect sustained excellence:

• American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund support
• AAAS Women's International Science Collaboration Award (2001)
• IUPAC Travel Award (1998)
• NSERC Women's Faculty Award (1995-2000)

As principal investigator, Dr. Li has secured over $3 million in research funding from NIH, NSF, Beckman Foundation, and ACS-PRF. Her mentorship spans 17 MS students and numerous undergraduates through NIH-BRIDES, Beckman Scholars, and RISE programs, with alumni pursuing advanced degrees at institutions like UCLA, UC Irvine, and Stanford Medical School. Her lab maintains active collaborations with industry partners including Dow Chemical and Amgen.

Dr. Li leads a multidisciplinary research team operating advanced spectroscopic and electrochemical instrumentation. Current projects include nitric oxide storage mechanisms in iron complexes, development of MOF-based sensors, and nanomaterial applications in energy storage, with several patents pending in gas sorption technology.