Integrating AI into Healthcare and Education: Jialu Li, Assistant Professor

I am particularly excited about integrating AI into healthcare and education, with the goal of creating speech technologies that generate meaningful and lasting positive impact for society.

 
Jialu Li joined the College of Information Science in Fall 2025 as an assistant professor. She earned her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she received the Beckman Graduate Fellowship and the Rambus Fellowship, and was recognized as a top-two finalist for the Graduate Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Before joining U of A, she spent time conducting research at Language Technologies Institute in Carnegie Mellon University.

What brought you to the College of Information Science?

The College of Information Science is an excellent place to pursue interdisciplinary research. My work focuses on building interdisciplinary speech applications that support the early identification of developmental disorders in children. My research goals align strongly with the college’s mission, advancing sociotechnical convergence science and leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to address collective grand challenges in health and education.

What is your current research, and what most excites you about this work?

My research aims to develop interdisciplinary speech applications that enable the early identification of developmental disorders in children, such as autism, delayed speech maturity and developmental language delay. I am particularly excited about integrating AI into healthcare and education, with the goal of creating technologies that generate meaningful and lasting positive impact for society.

What are you teaching this semester, and what do you most enjoy about teaching?

I teach INFO 621: Advanced Machine Learning Applications. I enjoy designing the course structure from the ground up and guiding students to dive deeply into the mathematics and theory behind machine learning. My goal is to help them develop a solid understanding of models that goes well beyond the surface level of online tutorials.

How do you engage with students to foster their academic and professional growth, both in and outside the classroom?

Inside the classroom, I draw on my industry experience to provide students with first-hand insights into the latest technologies, and I incorporate potential interview questions from real-world contexts to help them prepare for future opportunities. Outside the classroom, I try to offer guidance and advice to students navigating the job preparation process.

Beyond research and teaching, what are your passions?

I like traveling and hiking. I also like to work out. I play tennis if I’m free.

What advice do you have for InfoSci students?

My advice is to simply take the first step, go and do what you want or need to do. Don’t let anxiety or mental drain hold you back; once you get started, the path ahead will become clearer. Everything will work out fine in time. To quote Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”
 

Learn more about Jialu Li on her faculty page, or explore ways you can support the dynamic, student-invested faculty of the College of Information Science.