Nicole Li-Jessen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Personalized Medicine of Upper Airway Health and Diseases
Associate Member, Departments of Otolaryngology and Biomedical Engineering
Research Member, Quantitative Life Sciences,
Associate Investigator,
Regular Member, CAMBAM, ,
BSc Honors Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Hong Kong
MPhil Voice Physiology, University of Hong Kong
PhD Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh
Post-doctoral Fellow Vocal Fold Tissue Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Chair, Widening Participation Committee, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (2018 - 2024)听
Mentor, Provost's Faculty Mentorship Network, 涩里番 (2021 - present)
Associate Editor (2021 - 2024), Section Editor (2024 - present)听; Editorial Board Member (2025 - present) 听
As the Graduate Program Director (GPD; 2024 - present), Prof. Li-Jessen听is responsible for managing the graduate thesis programs in the School and for advising research students on academic matters. The GPD ensures the smooth day-to-day functioning and overall academic quality of the School's research programs and is the primary contact for all academic matters concerning PhD and Master鈥檚 thesis students. The GPD ensures that research students are informed about services and critical deadlines. She also facilitates conversation between the graduate degree program, the academic department, and the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office (GPS).
Prof. Li-Jessen鈥檚 laboratory tackles complex challenges in voice and upper airway health (VUA)听using advanced computational and engineering technologies. Their core innovation is the VUA Digital Health Twin, a virtual replica of a patient鈥檚 laryngeal system built on听four synergistic and interconnected research themes.
- Theme 1 focuses on computational modeling as the foundation, simulating biological processes underlying听vocal fold tissue听injury and repair with high fidelity through optimized CPU and GPU computing.
- Theme 2 develops tissue engineering solutions that generate critical validation data using customized vocal fold organ-on-chip technology. This work also creates novel biomaterials and drug carriers that the Digital Twin evaluates and refines.
- Theme 3 employs digital wearables to collect real-world patient data for personalized modeling.
- Theme 4 broadens the Twin beyond tissue simulation to encompass complete healthcare journeys and measure how stigmatization affects patient care-seeking behaviors.
Through this unique framework, the VUA Digital Twin can reliably design and optimize therapeutics with unprecedented precision, driving the critical transition to individualized VUA healthcare.听
Funding source: CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC, CRC, NIH, FRQS
Canada Research Chair (tier 2) in Personalized Medicine of Upper Airway Health and Diseases听(2021)
Delegate, Science Meets Parliament, Canadian Science Policy Center听(2021)
Visiting Professorship, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit盲t Erlangen-N眉rnberg, Germany (2019)
Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching (Assistant Professor Category), 涩里番 (2018)
Rosemary Wedderburn Brown Prize, 涩里番 (2018)
Canada Research Chair (tier 2) in Personalized Medicine of Voice Disorders (2017)
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