Haiyan Li, PhD

Dr. Haiyan Li is a postdoctoral fellow in Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in Professor Ross Ethier’s laboratory. She received her PhD from SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2022, mentored by Dr. Samuel Herberg. During her PhD, she utilized bioengineered extracellular matrix polymer hydrogels to investigate the pathobiology of human trabecular meshwork and Schlemm's canal in the context of glaucomatous dysfunction. Her notable contributions to the field encompass the development of unique photocrosslinkable 3D trabecular meshwork hydrogels and validating their efficacy as a glaucoma disease model. She also developed an extracellular matrix-alginate hybrid hydrogel system that facilitated on-demand control over matrix stiffness during cell culture and investigated the role of YAP/TAZ mechanosignaling in both trabecular meshwork and Schlemm’s canal cell dysfunction. Under the guidance of Dr. Ross Ethier during her postdoctoral training, she continues her research with a focus on Schlemm’s canal cell mechanobiology and pore formation.