About us

Dr Stuart McDonald
Director of Smart Medicine Laboratory

Dr Stuart McDonald is an Associate Professor of Economics and Deputy Head of the School of Economics at UNNC. As Co-Director of the Smart Medicine Laboratory, he leads the Community-Based Smart Health Initiative, integrating economic modeling and digital health research. His expertise in research funding, technological adoption, and health economics supports the lab’s interdisciplinary mission to advance sustainable healthcare innovation.

Professor Vladimir Brusic
External Expert & Scientific Advisor

Professor Vladimir Brusic is a distinguished academician of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Engineering and is recognized among the top 2% of scientists globally by Stanford University (2023). Formerly the Director of Smart Medicine Laboratory, and Li Dak Sum Chair Professor at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, he now serves as an external expert and scientific advisor to the Smart Medicine Laboratory.

Professor Brusic’s interdisciplinary expertise spans bioinformatics, health informatics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. His pioneering research in predictive analytics and knowledge-based systems has led to patented diagnostic technologies and intelligent software for medical applications. With over 300 publications and 19,000+ citations, he continues to collaborate globally with institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Griffith University, and Kumamoto University.

Dr Yi (Lily) Lin
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr Yi Lin (Lily) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at UNNC. Her research expertise spans nutrition, epidemiology, and biostatistics, with a focus on non-communicable diseases, circadian health, and child development. She has led or contributed to numerous national and provincial health projects and collaborates with local hospitals and public health agencies. Dr. Lin also co-leads the Gender and Health Group within the Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies and has authored multiple publications.

Dr Jun Xia
Researcher in Clinical Practice

Dr Jun Xia is an expert in the methodological science of clinical practice guidelines. Her research focuses on leveraging evidence synthesis and meta-analysis to critically appraise the quality of clinical guidelines, inform their development, and ensure that recommendations are grounded in robust evidence. By integrating systematic approaches into evidence-based decision-making, Dr. Xia’s work contributes to improving healthcare standards, clinical efficacy, and patient outcomes across medical disciplines.

Yinglun Li
Ph.D. Candidate

Yinglun Li’s doctoral research centers on artificial intelligence applications in smart health and home-based medical monitoring. He has developed large-scale reference databases and algorithms for detecting sleep apnea and cardiovascular conditions using wearable sensors. His work bridges the gap between clinical diagnostics and consumer-grade health technologies, contributing to the transformation of healthcare into the home environment.

Tianhong Cai
Ph.D. Candidate

Tianhong Cai’s research integrates data science, blockchain, and digital healthcare to build privacy-preserving digital health ecosystems. His concept of a “human indicator portfolio” applies financial modeling principles to health data, enabling personalized monitoring and secure data transfer - aligning with the lab’s goal of decentralizing healthcare management.

Xin Lin
Ph.D. Candidate

Xin Lin is a Ph.D. researcher specializing in computational biology and artificial intelligence. His work focuses on large-scale single-cell transcriptomics data analysis and machine learning applications in biomedical research. He has developed standardized pipelines, classification frameworks, and open-access APIs for AI-assisted biological data processing, collaborating with international teams on high-impact studies.

Minjie Lyu
Ph.D. Candidate

Minjie Lyu’s research applies machine learning to single-cell transcriptomics for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He has developed frameworks for disease classification and treatment prediction, particularly in hematologic and immunologic disorders. His work contributes to AI-based medical diagnostics and precision medicine.

Dr Xiang Zhang
Former Ph.D. Researcher (2018–2024)

Dr Xiang Zhang contributed significantly to the early development of the Smart Medicine project. Her interdisciplinary expertise in system design, hardware prototyping, and human–computer interaction led to the creation of early smart health monitoring systems and wearable-based experimental platforms.

Chong Yue (Joshua) Lai
Ph.D. Candidate

Joshua Lai’s research combines biomedical sensing, signal processing, and robotics to enhance wearable health monitoring technologies. His work on photoplethysmography-based systems for blood pressure and cardiovascular assessment contributes to the development of next-generation wearable technologies and continuous patient monitoring.