Nicole Li-Jessen

Nicole Li-Jessen, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Personalized Medicine of Upper Airway Health and Diseases. She serves as Graduate Program Director for the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and is an Associate Investigator at The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). Dr. Li-Jessen maintains additional affiliations with the Departments of Otolaryngology and Biomedical Engineering, and is a Research Member of Quantitative Life Sciences and McGill Regenerative Medicine Network.

Dr. Li-Jessen's research laboratory integrates in vitro, in vivo, and in silico (computational) approaches to study vocal fold biology and wound healing, with the goal of generating computational platforms that guide surgeons and speech pathologists in voice repair methods. Her key research areas include:

• Non-invasive assessment of airway reflux
• Designing 3D printable biomaterial for laryngeal tissue and muscle reconstruction
• Creating wearable e-health devices for upper airway monitoring
• Agent-based modeling of vocal trauma and repair response
• Development of tumor-on-a-chip platforms for studying laryngeal cancer chemoresistance

Her work is funded by a Canada Research Chair, the CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC, FRQS, and NIH in the United States. Dr. Li-Jessen has published extensively in high-impact journals across biomedical engineering, otolaryngology, and regenerative medicine fields, with recent publications focusing on vocal fold biomaterials, computational modeling of vocal pathology, and audio-based digital biomarkers for respiratory diseases.

Dr. Li-Jessen has received several prestigious awards including the Canada Research Chair (2021), Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2018), and the Rosemary Wedderburn Brown Prize (2018). She serves as Section Editor of PLOS Digital Health and is actively involved in science policy as a Delegate for Science Meets Parliament.

As Graduate Program Director, Dr. Li-Jessen oversees graduate thesis programs in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and has mentored numerous PhD, Master's, and undergraduate students. She leads the Voice and Upper Airway Research Lab (VUA Lab), which advocates for EDI principles in STEM and currently has open positions for PhD and post-doctoral researchers in computer modeling and digital health projects.