Yike N. Zhang
Hello! I'm Dr. Yike Zhang, a computer scientist with a research focus on
LLM, Computer Vision, 6D Pose Estimation, and surgical navigation systems. I recently completed my Ph.D. in Computer Science at Vanderbilt University, where I developed a deep-learning-based navigation system for image-guided cochlear implant surgery. My work bridges machine learning and medical imaging processing, aiming to improve surgical accuracy, safety, and future clinical translation with real-time image analysis and intraoperative navigation tools.
Beyond research/teaching, I’m passionate about mentoring students, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and creating open-source tools that support the wider medical imaging processing community. I enjoy building robust, intuitive systems that are both theoretically grounded and practically useful in high-stakes environments like the OR.
Outside of work, I enjoy hiking and traveling, and I love exploring new places and discovering local food scenes. Baking is one of my favorite creative activity — whether it’s sourdough, cakes, or cookies, I enjoy sharing what I make with friends. I also appreciate fun conversations about science, life, and technology.
📍 Currently based in San Antonio, TX
📫 yzhang5@stmarytx.edu
Research
| Knot Lab 🪢 | The Knowledge-infused Nursing Oriented Training Lab |
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Redforest Lab
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The Redforest AI Lab |
Teaching
| Summer | EG4338/EG6338 Data Science and Large Language Models | 2026 |
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| Spring | EG3300/EG6375 Intro to Python Programming for Data Analytics | 2026 |
| Spring | EG4361/EG6334 Software Quality Assurance and Testing | 2026 |
| Autumn | EG3353/EG3361 Engineering Project Management | 2025 |
| Autumn | EG4338/EG6338 Machine Learning | 2025 |
Latest Posts
| Sep 1, 2025 | The Knowledge-infused Nursing Oriented Training (KNOT) Lab website is released 🥳 |
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| Aug 8, 2025 | Ph.D. Degree Conferred by Vanderbilt University |
| July 9, 2025 | Attend the Medical Imaging with Deep Learning conference (#MIDL2025) at University of Utah |
| June 10, 2025 | Completed my Ph.D. in Computer Science |
| May 2, 2025 | Dissertation Completed 🎉 |
| Feb 15, 2025 | Our paper "SSDD-GAN: Single-Step Denoising Diffusion GAN for Cochlear Implant Surgical Scene Completion" got accepted to MIDL 2025 |
Selected Publications
2025
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SSDD-GAN: Single-Step Denoising Diffusion GAN for Cochlear Implant Surgical Scene CompletionAccepted to Medical Imaging with Deep Learning 2025
2025
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LLMs as Educational Analysts: Transforming Multimodal Data Traces into Actionable Reading Assessment ReportsInternational Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education. AIED 2025.
2025
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Self-supervised Mamba-based Mastoidectomy Shape Prediction for Cochlear Implant SurgeryMedical Imaging 2025: Image Processing
2025
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Zero-shot Surgical Tool Segmentation in Monocular Video using Segment Anything Model 2Medical Imaging 2025: Image Processing
2025
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Surgical Depth Anything: Depth Estimation for Surgical Scenes using Foundation ModelsMedical Imaging 2025: Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling
2024
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A First Step in Using Machine Learning Methods to Enhance Interaction Analysis for Embodied Learning EnvironmentsInternational Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education
2024
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Monocular Microscope to CT Registration Using Pose Estimation of the Incus for Augmented Reality Cochlear Implant SurgeryMedical Imaging 2024: Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling
2023
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Self-supervised Registration and Segmentation on Ossicles with A Single Ground Truth LabelMedical Imaging 2023: Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling
2023
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Chimerapy: A Scientific Distributed Streaming Framework for Real-time Multimodal Data Retrieval and ProcessingIEEE International Conference on Big Data (BigData)
2022
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