Dr. Yixue Zhao earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Southern California (USC) with award-winning research recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Computing Research Association (CRA), and Microsoft Research (MSR). While operating in high-achieving environments, she experienced firsthand that external success cannot buy happiness.
Inspired by a major mental breakdown in 2019, Dr. Zhao was determined to find the “middle way” to balance external success and inner peace. As a scientist at heart, she explored a wide range of well-being approaches in search of what truly works. A 10-day meditation retreat became the turning point, revealing a deep level of unconditional happiness beyond her wildest dreams. This milestone has completely changed her research topic from software engineering to human flourishing. She has been trained under Bhante Vimalaramsi, Bhante Kusala, and Delson Armstrong.
In 2025, Dr. Zhao founded Yixue Research Institute with the mission to uplift the future of humanity through the “middle way”. The Institute conducts interdisciplinary research on well-being using modern technology, uniquely combining Dr. Zhao's technical depth in AI with profound meditation insights. She also founded HARMONY, a pioneering workshop on AI and mental health research. Walking the “middle way” herself, Dr. Zhao maintains daily practices and annual meditation retreats, while producing public content to teach mindfulness tailored to the age of AI.
Among all her titles, Dr. Zhao is most proud of “the most positive person I’ve ever met” and strives to maintain it. Dr. Yixue Zhao’s website: yixuezhao.com.
Dr. Yixue Zhao is the founder and independent scientist of Yixue Research Institute working on interdisciplinary research centered around AI, Mental Health, and Meditation with amazing collaborators in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Psychiatry, Behavioral Science, Neuroscience, Psychology, and counting. Before she became her own boss, she was a Research Computer Scientist at Information Sciences Institute (ISI) of the University of Southern California (USC), and a member of AI4Health Center. Prior to ISI, Dr. Zhao was a Computing Innovation Fellow (CIFellow) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, awarded by Computing Research Association (CRA) and National Science Foundation (NSF). She received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from USC in 2020, with a research focus on Mobile Software Engineering. Her work has been published at prestigious venues, spanning diverse research areas including mental health, digital well-being, mobile applications, program analysis, software testing, and open science. Dr. Zhao's work has been recognized by numerous awards throughout her career, including the Best Dissertation Award Finalist at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering, Microsoft Research Dissertation Grant, WiSE Merit Award, Best Research Assistant Award, Jenny Wang Excellence in Teaching Award, and UIUC EECS Rising Star. Dr. Zhao has also been actively involved in academic services and outreach programs, such as founding and serving as General Chair of HARMONY, a pioneering interdisciplinary workshop on AI and mental health, and launching “Africa Initiative” to bring students from Africa to international research conferences, serving on the Steering Committee for student mentoring in the Software Engineering community, and actively participating in mentoring programs with countless students mentored, including high school students and underrepresented groups. Dr. Yixue Zhao’s website: yixuezhao.com.