Junli Xu

Junli Xu is an Associate Professor at the School of Biosystems and Food Engineering at University College Dublin (UCD), under the UCD Ad Astra Fellowship. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Zhejiang University (2014) and a PhD in Food Engineering from UCD (2018). Her research focuses on spectral imaging combined with advanced data analysis (machine learning/deep learning) for solving problems in environmental science, food safety, and biomedical engineering. Key projects include developing spectral imaging frameworks for detecting microplastics and assessing their health impacts.

Her research interests span spectral imaging, machine learning applications, environmental monitoring, and toxicology. She has secured grants such as the ERC Starting Grant and SFI-IRC Pathway Programme. Xu leads the UCD Spectral Imaging Research Group and has supervised multiple PhD students. She has published extensively in journals like Science of the Total Environment and Environmental Pollution.

Her work includes innovations like the BOX-YOLOv8 framework for hyperspectral core analysis and machine learning-driven methodologies for microplastic detection. She also contributes to professional activities, including editorial roles in Current Research in Food Science and peer review for journals like Food Control.