Ruogu Fang, Ph.D., associate professor, J. Crayton Pruitt Family Endowed Faculty Fellow, and associate director of the Intelligent Clinical Care Center at the University of Florida’s J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded the 2024-2025 Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Doctoral Mentoring Award. This prestigious honor recognizes her exceptional commitment to mentorship, professional development, and advancing research in biomedical AI.
For Fang, mentorship is more than a role—it is a responsibility to cultivate the next generation of trailblazers in STEM and AI. She is deeply invested in her students’ success, not only as researchers but as individuals poised to shape the future of science, health care, and technology. As they develop their own innovative ideas and professional identities, she remains a steadfast advocate, guide, and champion for their growth.
Her mentoring philosophy centers on hands-on research guidance, structured feedback, and interdisciplinary collaboration, ensuring students receive both technical training and real-world experience. Through strategic partnerships with clinical and industry leaders, she provides her mentees with opportunities to work on groundbreaking AI applications for health care, from early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases to noninvasive cognitive interventions. Her dedication has resulted in numerous student achievements, including prestigious NIH F31, NIH T32, and NSF GRFP fellowships, as well as alumni securing positions at top institutions such as Stanford, Columbia, the Mayo Clinic, and leading technology companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Fang is also passionate about expanding opportunities for students and early-career researchers, helping them build the skills and networks necessary for long-term success. As president of Women in MICCAI, she has supported initiatives that encourage more students to pursue careers in AI and biomedical engineering. Her pioneering Medical Artificial Intelligence course series earned the UF Inaugural AI Course Award, further solidifying her impact on student learning and engagement.
Congratulations to Fang on this well-deserved recognition of her dedication to student mentorship and research excellence.