10/24/2025 Diya Mehta and Jackson Brunner
University of Illinois graduates Zihao Ou and Manling Li have both been named MIT Technology Review’s prestigious Innovators Under 35 list for their groundbreaking work in science and technology
Written by Diya Mehta and Jackson Brunner
University of Illinois graduates Zihao Ou and Manling Li have both been named MIT Technology Review’s prestigious Innovators Under 35 list for their groundbreaking work in science and technology.
Zihao Ou (Ph.D. ’20, Materials Science and Engineering) was recognized for pioneering a breakthrough tissue-clearing technology that uses molecules found in everyday snacks like Doritos. A former doctoral student of Racheff Faculty Scholar Qian Chen in The Grainger College of Engineering, Ou discovered the method during what he described as a “completely failed project” in his first year as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford. “When investigating unexpected results, I realized there may be something more interesting than what we expected,” Ou said. That realization led to a discovery capable of transforming medical diagnostics.
The technique, recently published in science, makes living tissue transparent, allowing researchers to directly visualize internal organs, blood vessels, muscles, and even intestinal movement. “These results allow us to directly visualize internal organs, blood vessels, muscle features, as well as intestine movement,” Ou explained.
Recognized globally as one of the most promising young inventors, Ou describes the MIT honor as “one of the highest recognitions for New Inventors.” Each year, the program selects 35 innovators from hundreds of applicants worldwide, culminating in a November gathering at MIT where honorees share their work and discuss cutting-edge advances. His research has already been highlighted as one of the Top 10 Innovations in Physics of 2024 and covered by outlets including CNN, Scientific American, and The New York Times.
Looking ahead, Ou envisions making healthcare more accessible, particularly in underserved regions. “My vision is that with these small molecules, a food dye which is very cheap at this moment, we can send out kits containing these chemicals. In the future, we hope that we can just apply this to a certain area, directly visualize what is happening inside the body, and then take photos to a doctor,” he said.
By eliminating the need for expensive imaging equipment, the technology could democratize access to medical diagnostics and enable earlier detection of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, which are often identified too late for effective treatment.
Manling Li (Ph.D. ’23, Computer Science) was honored for her pioneering work on systems that integrate perception, reasoning, and action. Now an assistant professor of computer science at Northwestern University, Li was advised by Heng Ji at Illinois, with mentorship from Shih-Fu Chang, Kyunghyun Cho, and Jiawei Han. Her research has created a framework that allows artificial intelligence to piece together what is happening from multimedia information such as images, audio, video and text.
Reflecting on the recognition, Li said, “It is for our work on Reasoning and Planning. With Large Reasoning Models and Large Action Models, we are entering a new exciting stage of solving complicated agentic tasks with long-horizon decision making. I am excited and looking forward to exploring more ahead.”