Qing Li

I became interested in image analysis during my undergraduate studies in Biology at Doane University (USA) and the Agricultural University of Hebei (China). This early interest led me to pursue a Master's degree in Botany at Oklahoma State University, where I specialized in image analysis techniques to study plant morphology and growth patterns.

During my Ph.D. in Genetics at Fudan University, my research focus shifted to human biology, where I explored facial and dental morphology in Latin American populations. This project allowed me to integrate genetic data with detailed morphometric analysis, laying the groundwork for my future work in human facial shape research.

After earning my Ph.D., I joined Peking Union Medical College Hospital as a postdoctoral researcher, where I investigated the relationship between facial features and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. My work combined genetic and image analysis approaches to explore how scoliosis may manifest in craniofacial development.

Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Michael Suttie’s lab at the Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health. My research now focuses on the ethnic differences in the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on facial shape, using advanced 3D image analysis and machine learning techniques. This project aims to better understand how environmental factors like alcohol exposure impact facial development across different populations, with the long-term goal of improving diagnostic tools for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).