He received his PhD in the year 2004 at University of California-Riverside. His research concentrates on the development of various (bio)sensors. Many areas of medicine, the environment, and food and agriculture – ranging from the diagnosis of disease to new drug discovery, screening and food safety, as well as pollutant monitoring – involve the detection of biological and chemical species. Lei aims at development of novel, simple, ultrasensitive and universal biosensor platforms for the detection of biological and chemical species. Lei also involves the synthesis of nanostructured materials and their application. Nanotechnology is a strategic technology that holds the potential for great commercial rewards in the areas of electronics, medicine, environment, food and agriculture. Lei seeks to develop novel nanomaterials and apply them in sensing and biosensing.