Manyu Li, PhD

Dr. Manyu Li is an Associate Professor and Mr. and Mrs. E.P. “Pat” Nalley/BORSF Professor in Social Sciences at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the founder/director of the Data-science Application in SOcial and community psychology (DAISO) Lab. Li graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Ph.D. in Psychology in 2014. Her research sits at the intersection of social, community, and educational psychology, focusing on how data analytics can illuminate complex human experiences in these areas.

Li is an Early Career Fellow for the National Study of the Learning Mindset, Research Fellow for the Open Education Group, as well as Investigators (2) and Senior Personnel (2) on four NSF grants.

Research Areas

• Application of theories and evidence in belonging, place attachment, and motivation in two key areas: (1) STEM education and learning sciences, and (2) community engagement and resilience.
• Data Analytics: On top of linear models typical in behavioral science research, I utilize techniques such as Natural Language Processing, Bayesian Gaussian Graphical Models, Neural Models, and Social Network Analysis to model psychological constructs.
• STEM Education and Pedagogy: I partner with science educators to improve STEM education learning through applying evidence-based pedagogy and learning theories to develop and implement education technology.
• Program evaluation: I utilize mixed-methods to evaluate nationally funded projects and assess degree programs.

Mentorship & Academic Impact

• I mentor undergraduate and master’s students through the DAISO lab, offering students opportunities to conduct research, present at conferences, and co-author papers. I received student-nominated awards on Outstanding Master’s Mentor Award and Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award.
• I am an advocate for evidence-based pedagogy, developing high-impact OER materials and educational technology to make STEM education more accessible to social science students through my RELACSS series.
• Since 2017, I have successfully mentored six McNair Scholars, guiding them through national conference presentations, publications, and successful transitions to graduate-level research.
• Open Science and Education: Promoting transparency through Open Educational Resources (OER), research data sharing, and accessible data practices; recipient of data publication award.
• Editing: I am a Section Editor for Current Psychology (Springer) since 2022 and an Associate Editor for Educational Psychology (Taylor and Francis) since 2026.