Awards and recognitions
Selected awards
2023 William and Rhea Seath Award in Engineering Innovation, Faculty of Engineering, McGill University
2022 World's Top 2% of Scientists for the year of 2021 by Elsevier BV, Stanford University, USA
2021. Christophe Pierre Research Excellence Award (Early Career) from the Faculty of Engineering at McGill University
2020. Canada Research Chair – Tier 2 in Biomaterials and Musculoskeletal Health
2020. Materials Horizons Outstanding Paper Prize, Materials Horizons (Impact factor 14) of Royal Society of Chemistry
2019. Innovators Under 35 of China by MIT Technology Review
2016. Wyss Technology Development Award, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
2010. Graduation with honors (equiv. to Summa cum laude) from Zhejiang University, China
Selected awards of students
Postdoctoral scholarships: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, FRQNT Postdoctoral Scholarship, Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Doctoral and graduate scholarships: FRQNT Doctoral Scholarship, FRQNT Master Scholarship, McCall MacBain Scholarship, McGill Engineering Doctoral Award, McGill Engineering International Tuition Award, McGill Engineering Undergraduate Student Masters Award, Masters to Ph.D. Fast-Track Award, Graduate Excellence Fellowship, Mitacs Globalink Research Award Abroad, CBS Visiting Scholar Awards, FRQNT-Mitacs Globalink Research Award
Research excellence awards: Relève étoile Award from FRQNT (2 times, for recognizing research excellence of students, 1 winner per month, 2021), Baxter Young Investigator Award (Tier 1 & Tier 2), Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Finance Students Abroad (3 times), Graduate Student Silver Award from the Materials Research Society.
Conference and travel awards: Alan Gent Distinguished Student Paper Award and Peebles Awards from the Society of Adhesion, the First Place of Oral Presentation from Canadian Biomaterials Society (CBS), Merit & Travel Award from CBS, MRM Lucie Besner Travel Awards by McGill Regenerative Medicine Research Network, Post-Graduate Students’ Society Travel Award, GREAT Travel award of McGill University, WBC2016 Legacy Travel Award.
Awards for undergraduate trainees: Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) Gold Medals, Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) Prize, NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards, Stem Cell Network Summer Studentship Award.
Selected media coverage
(33) The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME; Feb. 13, 2023): New Medical Adhesive Stops Uncontrolled Bleeding.
(32) Radio Canada (Nov. 20, 2022): Un biomatériau pour colmater les plaies béantes : Reportage de J. F. Bouthillette
(31) McGill Tribune (Nov. 29, 2022): Flatworm-inspired bioadhesives allow pressure-free hemorrhage treatment
(30) Science Magazine (Aug. 11, 2022): Ultra-sounding out a technique that sticks
(29) McGill Newsroom (Aug. 12, 2022): Using sound and bubbles to make bandages stickier and longer lasting.
(28) McGill Newsroom (Oct. 13, 2022): Flatworm-inspired medical adhesives stop blood loss
(27) Physicsworld.com (Sept. 26, 2022): Bubbles make bandages stickier.
(26) Radio-Canada (July 11, 2022): Les Années lumière (a weekly national science magazine).
(25) BEaTS Research Radio, Youtube and Podcast (June 30, 2022), The University of Ottawa Heart Institute: Episode 123 BEaTS Research Radio- Interview with Dr. Jianyu Li (Mandarin).
(24) McGill Newsroom (Nov. 30, 2021): Synthetic tissue can repair hearts, muscles, and vocal cords.
(23) Radio Canada (Dec. 1, 2021): Un biomatériau pour réparer les cœurs et les cordes vocales
(22) CBC Quirks & Quarks: Injectable gels could help repair heart tissue and spinal cord injuries.
(21) A science book for the Amplify Science curriculum program by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, directed at elementary and middle school students to profile diverse scientists, engineers, and other STEM professionals.
(20) MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 China: Jianyu Li
(19) Canadian National Radio (CBC), including the CBC Montreal’s morning radio show Daybreak on July 25, 2019 (by Jennifer Yoon), the CBC Ottawa on July 25, 2019 (by Torah Kachur), and the CBC Health Unit in Toronto (by Marcy Cuttler).
(18) The New England Journal of Medicine: A Slick and Stretchable Surgical Adhesive, NEJM 377 (21), 2092-2094.
(17) The Journal of the American Medical Association: Bioinspired Adhesive Dressing Actively Heals Wounds in Animals.
(16) Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York: Exhibition "Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial”.
(15) BBC News: Slimy slugs inspire 'potentially lifesaving' medical glue
(14) CBC Radio: La limace, futur atout des chirurgiens
(13) NPR: Slug slime inspires scientists to invent sticky surgical glue
(12) The Washington Post: Stretching glue inspired by slugs could be the future of sutures
(11) The Guardian: From goo to glue: Slug slime inspires new wound-mending surgical adhesive
(10) U.S. News: Slug slime inspires new kind of surgical glue
(9) Newsweek: Slug mucus glue that stops internal bleeding created by scientists
(8) Science: This embryo-inspired bandage is 17 times stickier than a Band-Aid
(7) La Presse: Un pansement gélatineux pour refermer les plaies
(6) MIT Technology Review (MIT科技评论)：He makes biological materials closer to human tissues
(4) Boston's NPR News Station (WBUR): The Bandage Of The Future May Look Like Jell-O
(3) Science Daily: Skin-like sensors bring a human touch to wearable tech
(2) Harvard Gazette: Using body heat to speed healing
(1) Harvard Magazine: A dressing that pulls wounds shut