Di received her PhD in Management from Edinburgh University in 2008. She taught at Brunel University London as a Senior Lecturer (equivalent to a tenured Associate Professor) and at the University of Hong Kong as an Assistant Professor. Additionally, she was a Research Fellow at the Center for China Financial Research at The University of Hong Kong and a part-time Research Fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong-Tsinghua University Joint Research Centre on Chinese Economy. Her research is primarily focused on Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Political Economy, and the Chinese Economy. Di is particularly interested in exploring how legal and political institutions affect the incentives of business players in innovation activities. Her research articles have been published in the Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Economic Geography, Journal of Comparative Economics, Economic Inquiry, Public Choice, World Development, Research Policy, Technovation, American Law and Economics Review, International Journal of Industrial Organization, and Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, among others. Before venturing into academia, Di had an extensive career in the industry, holding middle and senior-level managerial positions in international trade, information technology, and business consultancy.