Postdoctoral Scholar Β· UCLA Neurology

Yuanyuan Wei

I translate cutting-edge AI into tools that solve real biomedical problems β€” from molecular diagnostics to drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. Every pipeline I build is validated with lab-generated biological data through closed-loop iteration, benchmarked as field-leading performance, and released with the first open benchmarks in each domain to advance the community.

πŸ“§ yuanyuanwei@mednet.ucla.edu πŸŽ“ Google Scholar πŸ“„ PubMed πŸ’¬ WeChat: Weiyy1415926
Yuanyuan Wei
Research
Making AI work for the people who need it most

A recurring theme across my work: powerful AI tools exist, but they rarely reach the biologists, clinicians, or patients who would benefit most. My research closes that gap β€” not by applying off-the-shelf models, but by building domain-customized AI pipelines that are trained and validated on our own lab-generated biological data, iteratively refined through closed-loop experimental feedback, and benchmarked to deliver field-leading performance. Equally important, I build the first open benchmarks in each domain I enter β€” from droplet microfluidics to AD-tau inhibitor compounds β€” so that others can build on this foundation. During my PhD, I developed training-free AI pipelines that brought foundation models into molecular diagnostics. Now at UCLA, I apply the same philosophy to designing small-molecule therapeutics for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, where conventional drug discovery has repeatedly failed because existing AI models weren't built for the unique geometry of pathological protein fibrils.

2014 – 2018 Β· B.S.
Tsinghua University
Brain-Inspired Computing
Contributed to the Tianjic chip β€” the world's first hybrid neuromorphic processor. Where my conviction began: engineering must serve biological understanding.
2018 – 2023 Β· Ph.D.
CUHK
AI Γ— Droplet Microfluidics
Deep learning pipelines for automated biological measurements. Built the first open benchmark database for droplet digital PCR.
2023 – 2024 Β· Research Associate
CUHK
Foundation Models Γ— Diagnostics
Pioneered zero-shot learning in molecular diagnostics (SAM-dPCR) β€” clinical accuracy without task-specific training.
2024 – Present Β· Postdoc
UCLA
AI Γ— Neurodegenerative Drug Discovery
Fibril-specific AI tools (FibrilBind, TauDiff, SSR-TauDiff) with patient-derived validation for AD and PD. First curated compound benchmark for amyloid inhibitors.
22+
Publications
12
First / Corresponding
300+
Citations Β· h-index 10
14
Talks & Invited Lectures
Selected Publications
† equal contribution Β· * corresponding author

Full list on PubMed and Google Scholar.

AI-Guided Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration (2024–present)
Wei Y., Wang W., Peng C. FibrilBind & TauDiff: Structure-guided AI platform for amyloid fibril inhibitor discovery. In preparation.
Foundation Models in Molecular Diagnostics (2023–2025)
Wei Y., Luo S., Xu C., et al. SAM-dPCR: Accurate and generalist nucleic acid quantification leveraging the zero-shot Segment Anything Model. Advanced Science, 2024, 2406797. [Paper] [PMC]
Wei Y., Liu X., Xu C., et al. From droplets to diagnosis: AI-driven imaging and system integration in digital nucleic acid amplification testing. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2025, 117741. [DOI]
Liu Z., Chen J., Xu M., Ho S., Wei Y.*, Ho H.*, Yong K.* Engineered multi-domain lipid nanoparticles for targeted delivery. Chemical Society Reviews, 2025, 54(12): 5961–5994. (IF: 46.2) [PubMed]
Wei Y.*, Wu Y., Qu F., et al. Interpretable droplet digital PCR assay for trustworthy molecular diagnostics. arXiv, 2025. [arXiv]
AI-Integrated Droplet Microfluidic Platforms (2018–2023)
Wei Y., Abbasi S., Mehmood N., et al. Deep-qGFP: A generalist deep learning pipeline for accurate quantification of GFP-labeled biological samples in microreactors. Small Methods, 2023, 2301293. [PubMed]
Wei Y.†, Cheng G.†, Ho H., et al. Thermodynamic perspectives on liquid-liquid droplet reactors for biochemical applications. Chemical Society Reviews, 2020, 49(18): 6555–6567. (IF: 46.2) [PubMed]
Wei Y., Wang T., Wang Y., et al. Rapid prototyping of multi-functional and biocompatible Parafilm-based microfluidic devices by laser ablation and thermal bonding. Micromachines, 2023, 14(3): 656. [PMC]
Funding & Honors
Grants, fellowships, and selected awards
Funding
Wei Y. (PI). Fibril-specific AI drug design to identify tau aggregation inhibitors in Alzheimer's disease. BrightFocus Foundation Pilot Award, 2026. $25,000.
Wei Y. (PI). BrightFocus Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Alzheimer's Disease Research. Resubmission planned Sep 2026. $200,000. [Invited resubmission]
Honors & Awards
UCLA Bioscientists of Tomorrow Cohort Program Β· 2025-present
1st Place, Neuroscience, Pearl Cohen Scientific Poster Competition, LABEST 2026, UCLA Β· 2026
Annual Champion, Best Presentation, BME Dept., CUHK Β· 2024
Hong Kong Medical & Health Care Device Industries Association Student Research Award Β· 2024
Talent Development Scholarship, HKSAR Government Β· 2023
Champion + Special Award, Prof. Charles K. Kao Student Creativity Awards, CUHK Β· 2019
Outstanding Student Leader Award, Tsinghua University Β· 2016
Academic Service
Ad hoc peer reviewer for international journals
Information Fusion (IF: 17.9)
Results in Engineering (IF: 6.0)
Measurement (IF: 5.6)
Talanta (IF: 5.6)
Experience & Education
From Tsinghua to Hong Kong to UCLA
2024 – present
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dept. of Neurology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Mentors: Chao Peng Β· Wei Wang
2023 – 2024
Research Associate
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Supervisor: Wu Yuan
2018 – 2023
Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Advisor: Aaron Ho-Pui Ho
2014 – 2018
B.S. in Precision Instrument
Tsinghua University, Beijing

Technical Expertise

Machine Learning
Graph Neural NetworksDiffusion ModelsFoundation ModelsZero-Shot LearningComputer VisionPyTorch
Drug Discovery
Molecular DockingVirtual ScreeningADMET PredictionStructure-Based Design
Experimental
Primary Neuron CultureiPSC-Derived NeuronsHigh-Throughput ScreeningDigital PCRDroplet Microfluidics
Beyond the Lab
The person behind the papers

I believe the best science comes from a full life. When I'm not at the bench or debugging model architectures, you'll find me on a trail, in a museum standing too long before a Monet, or road-tripping to the next national park. I write and paint in my quiet hours β€” it's how I think through problems that code can't solve. I'm also passionate about mentorship, and I carry that same energy into everything I do. :)

πŸ₯Ύ Hiking
🚴 Cycling in Hong Kong
πŸ”οΈ Big Bear Lake
πŸ‘₯ Lab Family
🎀 Invited Talk at Tsinghua
✈️ Visit in France
πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§ Family in Thailand
πŸ† With Nobel Laureate Edvard Moser
πŸ† With Nobel Laureate Gregg Semenza
🎀 Invited Talk at CUHK
πŸ₯Ύ Hiking 🚴 Cycling πŸš— Road Trips πŸ•οΈ National Parks ✈️ Traveling 🎀 Invited Talks 🀝 Mentorship & Coaching
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Let's Connect

I'm on track toward a faculty position (2027–2028) and always open to collaborations, conversations, and new ideas.