Yao Xiao, Ph.D.

Yao Xiao recently earned her Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Florida in 2020. She obtained her M.S. degree in computer science from Florida International University in 2016, and a B.E. degree in software engineering from Tianjin University in 2013. She will be a postdoc fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center starting from Fall 2020. Yao’s research interests lay in the fields of biomedical image analysis and computational health informatics. By using machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision techniques, her research goal is to provide more reliable, feasible, and affordable solutions for assisting disease diagnosis and treatment decisions. Yao has published 20 peer-reviewed publications, including flagship journals, book chapters, leading conference proceedings, and conference abstracts. Fourteen out of sixteen of the conference publications were accepted as oral presentations and/or with student travel awards. Yao has led or participated in over ten research projects since 2016 after she joined the Smart Medical Informatics Learning and Evaluation lab under the mentorship of Dr. Ruogu Fang. She also contributed in academic services and leaderships, including performing peer-reviews for nine journals and conferences, evaluating UF GSC student travel grants, serving on BME GSC Executive Board, organizing lab journal clubs, and mentoring students.

Lab: Dr. Ruogu Fang’s Smart Medical Informatics Learning and Evaluation (SMILE) Lab

Hometown: China

Degree: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering

Year you became a Gator: 2017

From which institutions do you hold degrees?
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, 2020;
M.S., Computer Science, Florida International University, 2016
B.E., Software Engineering, Tianjin University, 2013.

Research focus:
By using machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision techniques to provide more reliable, feasible, and affordable solutions for assisting disease diagnosis and treatment decisions. To discover novel risk factors, new treatments, unveil unknown things, fill gaps in knowledge, and improve the way that healthcare professionals work, and to improve the quality of life for people.

 What motivates you?
Every step of this meaningful research in the field of biomedical image analysis and computational health informatics takes us closer to form the potential solution in improving people’s lives. The possibility of applying techniques to solve real-world problems. The possibility of making a better world.

 What attracted you to UF BME?
The multidisciplinary environment allows me to learn and work collaboratively with experts in different domains. The inclusive environment allows me to fully involved in learning, research, and social activities.

What I love about Gainesville:
Lovely people with diverse background and lovely environments with great natural/outdoor attractions.

 Honors & Awards:

• Student Speaker: at the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Spring Graduation Ceremony, Gainesville, FL, USA, May. 2020.
• ISBI (NIH-funded) Student Travel Award, UF GSC Student Travel Award: to attend the 2020 IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI), Iowa City, Iowa, USA, Apr. 2020. (Virtual)
• UF BME Department Student Travel Award: to attend the 2019 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting (BMES), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Oct. 2019
• UF BME Department Student Travel Award: to attend the 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting (BMES), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Oct. 2018
• Tapia (ACM-funded) Student Travel Award: to attend the 2018 ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference (Tapia), Orlando, FL, USA, Sep. 2018
• MICCAI Student Travel Award: to attend the 20th Annual International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI), Quebec, Canada, Sep. 2017
• CHASE (NSF-funded) Student Travel Award: to attend the second IEEE/ACM Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies (CHASE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Jul. 2017