Welcome to the Dr. Ruichen Rong Lab!

I am an Assistant Professor in the Quantitative Biomedical Research Center (QBRC) in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center. My background is in bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, with extensive experience in designing novel artificial intelligence algorithms for biomedical research.

In the past few years, I have developed multiple deep learning models for biomedical imaging datasets: CT scan, X-ray image, digital pathology slides, fluorescence imaging, spatial transcriptomics. Along with computer vision, I have also participated in various projects focusing on NLP analysis for clinical notes, pathological reports, EHR data analysis, and metagenomics. Currently I’m focusing on the development of multimodal large language models (MLLMs) for pathology image diagnosis and reasoning.


Research Interests

Biomedical Imaging

Digital Pathology

Large Language Models


Latest Publications

A complete publication list can be found here.

MORE PUBLICATIONS
Deep learning of cell spatial organizations identifies clinically relevant insights in tissue images

Wang, S., Rong, R., Zhou, Q., Yang, D. M., Zhang, X., Zhan, X., ... & Xiao, G. (2023)
Nature communications 14 (1), 7872.

publisher's website

Deep learning-based H-score quantification of immunohistochemistry-stained images.

Wen, Z., Luo, D., Wang, S., Rong, R., Evers, B. M., Jia, L., ... & Xiao, G. (2023).
Modern Pathology, 100398.

publisher's website

Unsupervised domain adaptation for nuclei segmentation: Adapting from hematoxylin & eosin stained slides to immunohistochemistry stained slides using a curriculum approach.

Wang, S., Rong, R., Gu, Z., Fujimoto, J., Zhan, X., Xie, Y., & Xiao, G. (2023).
Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 241, 107768.

publisher's website

Publications


Deep learning of cell spatial organizations identifies clinically relevant insights in tissue images

Shidan Wang, Ruichen Rong, Qin Zhou, Donghan M Yang, Xinyi Zhang, Xiaowei Zhan, Justin Bishop, Zhikai Chi, Clare J Wilhelm, Siyuan Zhang, Curtis R Pickering, Mark G Kris, John Minna, Yang Xie, Guanghua Xiao
Dec. 2023Nature communications 14 (1), 7872

Deep learning-based H-score quantification of immunohistochemistry-stained images

Zhuoyu Wen, Danni Luo, Shidan Wang, Ruichen Rong, Bret M Evers, Liwei Jia, Yisheng Fang, Elena V Daoud, Shengjie Yang, Zifan Gu, Emily N Arner, Cheryl Lewis, Luisa Maren Solis Soto, Junya Fujimoto, Carmen Behrens, Ignacio I Wistuba, Donghan M Yang, Rolf Brekken, Kathryn A O'Donnell, Yang Xie, Guanghua Xiao
Dec. 2023Modern Pathology, 100398

A Generalized Supervised Contrastive Learning Framework for Integrative Multi-omics Prediction Models

Sen Yang, Shidan Wang, Yiqing Wang, Ruichen Rong, Bo Li, Andrew Y Koh, Guanghua Xiao, Dajiang Liu, Xiaowei Zhan
Nov. 2023bioRxiv, 2023.11. 01.565241

Unsupervised domain adaptation for nuclei segmentation: Adapting from hematoxylin & eosin stained slides to immunohistochemistry stained slides using a curriculum approach

Shidan Wang, Ruichen Rong, Zifan Gu, Junya Fujimoto, Xiaowei Zhan, Yang Xie, Guanghua Xiao
Dec. 2023Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine

A Deep Learning Approach for Histology-Based Nucleus Segmentation and Tumor Microenvironment Characterization

Ruichen Rong, Hudanyun Sheng, Kevin W Jin, Fangjiang Wu, Danni Luo, Zhuoyu Wen, Chen Tang, Donghan M Yang, Liwei Jia, Mohamed Amgad, Lee AD Cooper, Yang Xie, Xiaowei Zhan, Shidan Wang, Guanghua Xiao
Aug. 2023Modern Pathology 36 (8), 100196

Image-based quantification of histological features as a function of spatial location using the Tissue Positioning System

R Rong, Y Wei, L Li, T Wang, H Zhu, G Xiao, Y Wang
Aug. 2023EBioMedicine 94

ScopeViewer: A Browser-Based Solution for Visualizing Spatial Transcriptomics Data

Danni Luo, Sophie Robertson, Yuanchun Zhan, Ruichen Rong, Shidan Wang, Xi Jiang, Sen Yang, Suzette Palmer, Liwei Jia, Qiwei Li, Guanghua Xiao, Xiaowei Zhan
July 2023bioRxiv

Systems and methods for characterizing a tumor microenvironment using pathological images

G Xiao, Y Xie, R Rong, S Wang
June 2023US Patent App. 17/998,037

Deep-Learning-Based Hepatic Ploidy Quantification Using H&E Histopathology Images

Zhuoyu Wen, Yu-Hsuan Lin, Shidan Wang, Naoto Fujiwara, Ruichen Rong, Kevin W Jin, Donghan M Yang, Bo Yao, Shengjie Yang, Tao Wang, Yang Xie, Yujin Hoshida, Hao Zhu, Guanghua Xiao
Apr. 2023Genes 14 (4), 921

Enhanced Pathology Image Quality with Restore–Generative Adversarial Network

Ruichen Rong, Shidan Wang, Xinyi Zhang, Zhuoyu Wen, Xian Cheng, Liwei Jia, Donghan M Yang, Yang Xie, Xiaowei Zhan, Guanghua Xiao
Apr. 2023The American Journal of Pathology 193 (4), 404-416

Features of tumor-microenvironment images predict targeted therapy survival benefit in patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer

Shidan Wang, Ruichen Rong, Donghan M Yang, Junya Fujimoto, Justin A Bishop, Shirley Yan, Ling Cai, Carmen Behrens, Lynne D Berry, Clare Wilhelm, Dara Aisner, Lynette Sholl, Bruce E Johnson, David J Kwiatkowski, Ignacio I Wistuba, Paul A Bunn, John Minna, Guanghua Xiao, Mark G Kris, Yang Xie
Jan. 2023The Journal of Clinical Investigation 133 (2)

MB-SupCon: Microbiome-based Predictive Models via Supervised Contrastive Learning

Sen Yang, Shidan Wang, Yiqing Wang, Ruichen Rong, Jiwoong Kim, Bo Li, Andrew Y Koh, Guanghua Xiao, Qiwei Li, Dajiang J Liu, Xiaowei Zhan
Aug. 2022Journal of molecular biology 434 (15), 167693

Deep learning of rhabdomyosarcoma pathology images for classification and survival outcome prediction

Xinyi Zhang, Shidan Wang, Erin R Rudzinski, Saloni Agarwal, Ruichen Rong, Donald A Barkauskas, Ovidiu Daescu, Lauren Furman Cline, Rajkumar Venkatramani, Yang Xie, Guanghua Xiao, Patrick Leavey
June 2022The American Journal of Pathology 192 (6), 917-925

MB-GAN: microbiome simulation via generative adversarial network

Ruichen Rong, Shuang Jiang, Lin Xu, Guanghua Xiao, Yang Xie, Dajiang J Liu, Qiwei Li, Xiaowei Zhan
Feb. 2021GigaScience 10 (2), giab005

A deep learning-based model for screening and staging pneumoconiosis

Liuzhuo Zhang, Ruichen Rong, Qiwei Li, Donghan M Yang, Bo Yao, Danni Luo, Xiong Zhang, Xianfeng Zhu, Jun Luo, Yongquan Liu, Xinyue Yang, Xiang Ji, Zhidong Liu, Yang Xie, Yan Sha, Zhimin Li, Guanghua Xiao
Jan. 2021Scientific reports 11 (1), 2201

HiddenVis: a Hidden State Visualization Toolkit to Visualize and Interpret Deep Learning Models for Time Series Data

Jingquan Yan, Ruichen Rong, Guanghua Xiao, Xiaowei Zhan
Dec. 2020bioRxiv, 2020.12. 11.422030

Computational staining of pathology images to study the tumor microenvironment in lung cancer

Shidan Wang, Ruichen Rong, Donghan M Yang, Junya Fujimoto, Shirley Yan, Ling Cai, Lin Yang, Danni Luo, Carmen Behrens, Edwin R Parra, Bo Yao, Lin Xu, Tao Wang, Xiaowei Zhan, Ignacio I Wistuba, John Minna, Yang Xie, Guanghua Xiao
June 2022Cancer research 80 (10), 2056-2066

Artificial intelligence in lung cancer pathology image analysis

Shidan Wang, Donghan M Yang, Ruichen Rong, Xiaowei Zhan, Junya Fujimoto, Hongyu Liu, John Minna, Ignacio Ivan Wistuba, Yang Xie, Guanghua Xiao
Oct. 2019Cancers 11 (11), 1673

Disease correlation network: a computational package for identifying temporal correlations between disease states from Large-Scale longitudinal medical records

Huaiying Lin, Ruichen Rong, Xiang Gao, Kashi Revanna, Michael Zhao, Petar Bajic, David Jin, Chengjun Hu, Qunfeng Dong
Oct. 2019JAMIA open 2 (3), 353-359

Pathology image analysis using segmentation deep learning algorithms

Shidan Wang, Donghan M Yang, Ruichen Rong, Xiaowei Zhan, Guanghua Xiao
Sep. 2019The American journal of pathology 189 (9), 1686-1698

Skin lesion segmentation with C-UNet

Junyan Wu, Eric Z Chen, Ruichen Rong, Xiaoxiao Li, Dong Xu, Hongda Jiang
July 20192019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC)

Lesion attributes segmentation for melanoma detection with multi-task u-net

Eric Z Chen, Xu Dong, Xiaoxiao Li, Hongda Jiang, Ruichen Rong, Junyan Wu
Apr. 20192019 IEEE 16th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2019)

Members


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Bo Yao
Scientific Programmer III
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Peiran Quan
Database Scientist
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Ismael Villanueva-Miranda
Data Scientist II

About PI


Ruichen Rong

Assistant Professor, Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center
  Ruichen.Rong@​UTSouthwestern​.edu
  5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390

Download CV

Biography


I am an Assistant Professor in the Quantitative Biomedical Research Center (QBRC) in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center. My background is in bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, with extensive experience in designing novel artificial intelligence algorithms for biomedical research.

My research interests are Biomedical Imaging, Digital Pathology, and Large Language Models.

In the past few years, I have developed multiple deep learning models for biomedical imaging datasets: CT scan, X-ray image, digital pathology slides, fluorescence imaging, spatial transcriptomics. Along with computer vision, I have also participated in various projects focusing on NLP analysis for clinical notes, pathological reports, EHR data analysis, and metagenomics. Currently I’m focusing on the development of multimodal large language models (MLLMs) for pathology image diagnosis and reasoning.

Positions and Scientific Appointments


  • present 2023
    Assistant Professor
    UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
  • 2023 2018
    Senior Data Scientist
    UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
  • 2018 2017
    Associate Researcher
    Loyola University of Chicago, Maywood, IL
  • 2016 2016
    Software Engineer Intern
    Google Inc., Mountain View, CA
  • 2015 2011
    Research Assistant
    University of North Texas, Denton, TX

Education


  • 2017 2011
    Ph.D, Computational Biology
    University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
    Research Area: Biostatistics, Applied Mathematics
  • 2016 2013
    M.S, Computer Sciences
    University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
    Research Area: Machine Learning, Data Science, Computer Vision
  • 2010 2005
    B.S, Biotechnology
    Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China