We are pleased to announce that, through an engineering faculty search on data science for health, Lehigh ISE has hired Dr. Meng Zhao, who will start on July 1, 2025, as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in our department.
Dr. Meng Zhao is currently a postdoc at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She earned her PhD from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Florida in 2023. Her research has focused on developing high-dimensional data analytics and machine learning algorithms for complex system monitoring and modeling. Her current work centers on leveraging computational methods for phenotyping and genotyping in the health domain. Her research findings have been published in both ISE and clinical journals, such as IISE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering (where her work was recognized as a feature article) and IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
Meng's research effectively expands the core areas of ISE, striking the right balance between methodological and applied work. On the methodological side, her expertise includes (deep) tensor decomposition, tensor networks, federated data analytics, and large-scale data fusion. On the applied side, she brings valuable contributions in multi-modal health data analysis, computational phenotyping and the monitoring of complex transportation and manufacturing systems.
Meng says, “I am passionate about translating high-dimensional data into actionable insights, particularly in healthcare and transportation, where they can create a real impact on people’s lives. Interdisciplinary collaboration has always driven my research—some of the most meaningful advancements happen at the intersection of fields. I’m thrilled to join Lehigh ISE and contribute to this vibrant community!”
