Xinxin Li

Dr. Xinxin Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China. She serves as a Doctoral Supervisor, Shue Yan College Student Advisor, and Head of the Marine Carbon Sequestration Processes and Mechanisms Research Team. Dr. Li is also a member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and serves as a Young Member of the Marine Chemistry Section of the Chinese Society of Oceanography.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from Texas A&M University (2013)
• M.S. in Marine Chemistry from Ocean University of China (2008)
• B.S. in Applied Chemistry from Qingdao University (2005)

Dr. Li's research focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of organic carbon in marine ecosystems from estuaries to trenches. She utilizes stable and radioactive carbon isotopes, organic biomarkers, microbial population dynamics, and metabolic processes to study marine carbon cycling and its relationship with ocean acidification, eutrophication, hypoxia, global climate change, and carbon neutrality. Her work has significant implications for understanding marine carbon sinks and the environmental impacts of human activities on coastal and deep-sea ecosystems.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on carbon cycling in extreme environments like trenches, mangrove ecosystems, and river estuaries. Her research demonstrates how human activities such as deforestation impact carbon storage in coastal wetlands, and how deep-sea trenches serve as important carbon sinks. Her work bridges fundamental biogeochemical processes with practical applications for climate change mitigation and carbon neutrality goals.

Dr. Li has received multiple awards including:

• 2023 SUSTech "Outstanding Party Affairs Worker"
• 2021 SUSTech Young Teachers Teaching Competition Special Prize
• 2020 SUSTech "Outstanding College Mentor" and Science Popularization Ambassador Award
• 2018 Shenzhen Nanshan District "Navigation Talent"
• 2017 Shenzhen Peacock Plan C-level Talent

She has successfully secured multiple research grants including National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects on organic carbon burial in the Bengal Fan (2023-2026), organic carbon preservation mechanisms in trenches using the Chile Trench as a case study (2021-2024), and microbial net carbon fixation processes in the Chile Trench (2019-2021). She also leads the Shenzhen International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Project on organic matter activity in trench sediments and serves as a core member of the Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaeal Genomics.

Dr. Li leads the Marine Carbon Sequestration Processes and Mechanisms Research Team at SUSTech, which focuses on using stable/radiocarbon isotopes, biomarkers, and microbial dynamics to explore organic carbon cycling in marine ecosystems and its relationship with environmental changes. The team actively recruits postdoctoral fellows and doctoral students to advance research in marine organic biogeochemistry.