Xinyang Li studied clinical medicine at Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine where she worked on projects about mutation detection in papillary thyroid carcinoma using ARMS-PCR. During her master's program at the same institute, she also learned and conducted basic biochemistry experiments, gaining experience in processing clinical samples, Western blotting (WB), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), tissue culture, and clinical data analysis.

She is currently pursuing a PhD at KCL in the laboratories of Professor Mahvash Tavassoli and Dr Shahram Kordasti investigating the mechanisms of therapy resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). By utilizing various 2D and 3D co-culture models and multiplex imaging methods, the project aims to identify potential biomarkers and pathways that may explain the development of radio resistance in HNSCCs.