Rate My Professor Hanli Liu

Hanli Liu is a professor of bioengineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she has served since joining the faculty in 1996 and advancing to full professor in the Department of Bioengineering on September 1, 2006. She also holds an adjunct faculty appointment in Biomedical Engineering at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Liu earned her PhD in Physics from Wake Forest University in 1994, an MS in Physics from Wake Forest University in 1990, and a BS from Beijing Normal University in 1983. As director of the Multi-modal Imaging and Neuromodulation Laboratory, she leads research programs collaborating with institutions including UT Southwestern Medical Center, UNT Health Science Center, and UT Austin. Her career has centered on developing innovative optical technologies for medical applications, securing over $11 million in research funding as principal investigator or co-principal investigator.

Liu's research specializations encompass medical instrumentation and imaging, minimally invasive and noninvasive spectroscopy and imaging of tissue, and optical diffuse imaging for cancer prognosis and brain activities, with key focuses on near-infrared spectroscopy for functional brain imaging, transcranial infrared laser stimulation for neuromodulation and cognition enhancement, and non-invasive detection methods for conditions like neonatal brain swelling and prostate cancer. She has received multiple NIH grants, including funding for transcranial light therapy, brain circuitry studies, and early detection of brain swelling in newborns. Notable publications include "Dependence of tissue optical properties on solute-induced changes in refractive index and osmolarity" (Journal of Biomedical Optics, 1996), "Interplay between up-regulation of cytochrome-c-oxidase and hemoglobin oxygenation induced by near-infrared laser" (Scientific Reports, 2016), "Determination of optical properties and blood oxygenation in tissue using continuous NIR light" (Physics in Medicine & Biology, 1995), and "Up-regulation of cerebral cytochrome-c-oxidase and hemodynamics by transcranial infrared laser stimulation" (Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 2017). Her scholarly impact is evidenced by over 9,100 citations. Liu is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, recipient of the Dallas Business Journal Women in Technology Award in 2018, and holder of the College of Engineering Board of Advisors Endowed Professorship.