Dr. Dong Li Receives Google Research Scholar Award for Innovation in Smartphone-Based Cardiovascular Monitoring

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 15:13:27 -0400

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering is proud to announce that Assistant Professor Dr. Dong Li has been selected for the Google Research Scholar Program in recognition of his groundbreaking research in mobile health sensing. His funded project, titled “Transforming Smartphones into Doppler Ultrasound Devices for Cardiovascular Monitoring,” aims to turn everyday smartphones into accessible and affordable tools for non-invasive cardiovascular assessment.

Dr. Li’s research leverages the built-in audio hardware in smartphones to transmit and receive ultrasound signals, enabling Doppler-based measurements traditionally performed by expensive medical devices. This work has the potential to democratize cardiovascular monitoring by making it more available to underserved populations and enabling real-time, at-home health tracking without the need for external hardware.

The Google Research Scholar Award supports early-career faculty pursuing research across fields of computer science and engineering. Dr. Li’s recognition by Google highlights the impact and innovation of his work at the intersection of mobile computing, acoustic sensing, and healthcare equity.