Yayun Du to Speak at MSSU’s 2026 Willcoxon Innovation in Health Sciences Summit
Yayun Du will be a featured speaker at the 2026 Willcoxon Innovation in Health Sciences Summit on March 27, 2026.
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JOPLIN, Mo. (Jan. 13, 2026) - Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) announced that Yayun Du, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Vanderbilt University, will be a featured speaker at the 2026 Willcoxon Innovation in Health Sciences Summit on March 27, 2026.
The summit, now in its third year, highlights emerging technologies and trends in health and life sciences. Du will present during session one on wearable technologies as part of an agenda that also includes a keynote address by Mary Joy Garcia-Dia, DNP, RN, program director of nursing informatics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Du earned her PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She also holds a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in automotive engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology in China.
Her research focuses on developing wearable and implantable sensors for continuous health monitoring and the diagnosis of cardiovascular and neurological diseases, with designs adaptable to diverse populations. She also aims to advance robotics for use in challenging environments such as hospital ICUs.
Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Du served as a postdoctoral scholar at Northwestern University, where she led interdisciplinary projects on multimodal sensors integrated with edge artificial intelligence. These innovations have been deployed in hospitals internationally, benefiting patients ranging from neonates to older adults in China, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.
About Willcoxon Innovation in Health Sciences Summit
The Willcoxon Innovation in Health Sciences Summit is open to health care professionals, students and community members. The event will be held in the Taylor Performing Arts Center on the MSSU campus. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by the keynote address at 8:30 a.m. and expert-led sessions throughout the day.
Additional information and registration details are available here.
