Yi Hua
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests
Myopia, glaucoma, and the complex interactions between the two; Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS); Blast-induced ocular traumatic injuries; Vision defects related to TBI
Biography
Dr. Hua is currently the head of The Vision Laboratory at the University of Mississippi. He has extensive expertise in biomechanics, specializing in both biosolids and biofluids. His research primarily focuses on the role of biomechanics in visual impairment and dysfunction caused by diseases and injuries that affect the eye, the brain, or the optic nerve connecting them. Dr. Hua's research methods include: Computational modeling, which includes finite element analysis, meshfree methods, and computational fluid mechanics Imaging techniques such as polarized light microscopy (PLM), confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT), laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), and super-resolution ultrasound Image processing including segmentation, digital image correlation (DIC), and digital volume correlation (DVC) Macro and micro-mechanical testing of tissues Shock tube experiments
Dr. Hua's educational background includes a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Nantong University, China in 2008. He then obtained his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China in 2011. He completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2016, under the supervision of Prof. Linxia Gu, who is currently at Florida Tech. From 2016 to 2023, Dr. Hua worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Ocular Biomechanics at the University of Pittsburgh, under the guidance of Prof. Ian Sigal. During this period, Dr. Hua received a fellowship from the BrightFocus Foundation to study blood flow and oxygenation in the optic nerve head located at the back of the eye. After completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Hua joined the University of Mississippi and established The Vision Laboratory.
Education
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University (2008)
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics (2011)
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2016)