Dr. Wei Shi is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). He received his Ph.D. degree in Biology from SUSTech in 2024. His research focuses on the development of single-molecule localization super-resolution microscopy (SMLM), with particular emphasis on large-field-of-view, high-throughput, and three-dimensional super-resolution imaging. He has published multiple papers as first, co-first, and corresponding author in leading journals, including Nature Methods, Nature Communications, Photonics Research, and Optics Letters. He has been awarded 10 patents as the first inventor (including 6 invention patents and 4 utility model patents) and completed 3 software copyrights. He has served as the principal investigator of projects funded by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, including the Special Funding Program and General Program, and participated in the National Key Research and Development Program of China.

Education

Ph.D. in Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

Sep 2020-Jun 2024, Supervisor: Prof. Yiming Li

M.S. in Control Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, China

Sep 2012-Jun 2015, Supervisor: Prof. Honglin Ouyang

B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Automation, Xiangnan University, China

Sep 2007-Jun 2011

Professional Experience

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology

Aug 2026 – Present

Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology

Jul 2024 – Jul 2026

Research Assistant, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology

Nov 2019-Sep 2020

Engineer, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Dec 2017-Aug 2019

Assistant Engineer, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Sep 2015-Dec 2017

Honors and Awards

National Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Grade C), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, 2024 

Outstanding Graduate, Southern University of Science and Technology, 2024

National Scholarship (Doctoral Level), 2023

Funded Research Projects

Principal Investigator, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Special Funding, Batch 18), Project No. 2025T180788

Jul 2025-Jul 2026, RMB 180,000

Principal Investigator, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (General Program, Batch 78), Project No. 2025M782918

Dec 2025-Jul 2026, RMB 80,000

Participant, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Project No. 2024YFF0726000,

Dec 2024-Nov 2027, RMB 9,948,000

Publications

1. Fu S#, Shi W#, Luo T, He Y, Zhou L, Yang J, Yang Z, Liu J, Liu X, Guo Z, Yang C, Liu C, Huang Z L, Ries J, Zhang M, Xi P, Jin D, Li Y*; Field-dependent deep learning enables high-throughput whole-cell 3D super-resolution imaging, Nature Methods, 2023, 20(3):459-468.

2. Fei Y#, Fu S#, Shi W#, Fang K, Wang R, Zhang T, Li Y*; Scalable and lightweight deep learning for efficient high accuracy single-molecule localization microscopy, Nature Communications, 2025, 16:7217.

3. Shi W, He Y, Wang J, Zhou L, Wang Z, Fang K, Li Y*; Aberration correction for deformable-mirror-based remote focusing enables high-accuracy whole-cell super-resolution imaging, Photonics Research, 2024, 12(4):821-832.

4. Shi W, Fu S, Li Y*; High-throughput single-molecule localization microscopy: Potential clinical applications, Clinical and Translational Medicine, 2023, 13(4):e1251.

5. Li Y#, He Y#, Fang K, Zhou L, Wang Z, Shi W*, Li Y*; 3D drift correction for super-resolution imaging with a single laser light, Optics Letters, 2024, 49(10):2785-2788.

6. Li Y*, Shi W, Liu S, Cavka I, Wu YL, Matti U, Wu D, Koehler S, Ries J*; Global fitting for high-accuracy multi-channel single-molecule localization, Nature Communications, 2022, 13:3509.

7. Fu S, Shi W, Katrukha EA, Chen X, Fei Y, Fang K, Wang R, Zhang T, Ma D, Li Y*; Aberration-aware 3D localization microscopy via self-supervised neural-physics learning, Nature Communications, 2026, 17:6504.

8. Li M, Feng J, Shi W, Li Y*; Powell lens-driven flat-field TIRF illumination for quantitative super-resolution imaging, Optics Letters, 2026, 51(9):2600-2603.

9. Zhang Q#, Qiu R#, Lu B#, Wang J, Cao J, Zhu H, Huang M, Long W, Fang K, Zhang C, Li F, Shi W, Liu Q, Li Y, Dong P*, Zhao W*; Deacetylase-independent HDAC1 condensation defines temozolomide response in glioblastoma, Nature Chemical Biology, 2026.

10. Chen J, Shi W, Feng J, Wang J, Liu S, Li Y*; Upsampled PSF enables high accuracy 3D super-resolution imaging with sparse sampling rate, Photonics Research, 2025, 13(6):1485-1496.

11. Cao R#, Li Y#, Zhou Z, Li M, Lin F, Wang G, Zhang G, Yang B, Ren W, Sun J, Hou Y, Xu X, Hu J, Shi W, Fu S, Liang Q, Lu Y, Li C, Zhao Y, Li Y, Kuang D, Wu J, Fei P, Qu J*, Xi P*; Dark-based optical sectioning assists background removal in fluorescence microscopy, Nature Methods, 2025, 22:1299-1310.

12. Li M, Shi W, Liu S, Fu S, Fei Y, Zhou L, Fang K, Li Y*; Fast and universal single-molecule localization using multi-dimensional point spread functions, Optics Express, 2024, 32(24):42601-42615.

13. Zhou L, Shi W, Fu S, Li M, Chen J, Fang K, Li Y*; High Refractive Index Imaging Buffer for Dual-Color 3D SMLM Imaging of Thick Samples, Analytical Chemistry, 2024, 96(39):15648-15656.

14. Chen J#, Yao B#, Yang Z, Shi W, Luo T, Xi P, Jin D, Li Y*; Ratiometric 4Pi single-molecule localization with optimal resolution and color assignment, Optics Letters, 2022, 47(2):325-328.

15. Ge Y, Chen J, Zhu P, Yang J, Deng S, Shi W, Zhang K, Guo J, Zhang H, Zheng H, Liang D*; Dual phase grating based X-ray differential phase contrast imaging with source grating: theory and validation, Optics Express, 2020, 28(7):9786-9801.

16. Hong X, Shi W, Zheng H, Liang D*; Effective carbon nanotubes/graphene hybrid films for electron field emission application, Vacuum, 2019, 169:108917.

17. Chen J#, Zhu J#, Li Z#, Shi W, Zhang Q, Hu Z, Zheng H, Liang D*, Ge Y*; Automatic image-domain Moiré artifact reduction method in grating-based X-ray interferometry imaging, Physics in Medicine & Biology, 2019, 64(19):195013.