Li Zhao is an environmental scientist with diverse expertise in hydrology, land-vegetation interactions and fuel moisture modelling, with a particular focus on the dynamics between soil moisture and fuel moisture. She has extensive experience in environmental modelling, fieldwork, and laboratory experiments.

Li completed her PhD in Environmental Science from the Australian National University in 2022. Her research has advanced the understanding of the complex relationships between environmental factors and dead vegetation moisture across different spatial and temporal scales. Her work earned her a nomination for the 2023 JG Crawford Prize for academic excellence. Her current work focuses on modelling lightning-caused fires, using diverse datasets to enhance the understanding and prediction of lightning fire risks.