Illinois ECE Calendar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Seminar

Dr. Keren Zhu

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School

Monday, May 18, 2026, 10:00-11:00 am

B02 CSL Auditorium or Online via Zoom

Title: Wearable Bioelectromagnetic Interfaces for Next-Generation Healthcare: Sensing and Stimulation

Abstract: Rapid advances in electromagnetics, materials, MRI, signal processing, and artificial intelligence are opening new and unexpected opportunities for whole body sensing and stimulation. These technologies are paving the way for wearable, adaptive, and personalized health on-the-go transforming next-generation healthcare and beyond. 

In this seminar, I will present my research on wearable bioelectromagnetic interfaces, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in body-area sensing, stimulation, and ultimately, fully integrated unified system. On the sensing side, I will discuss wearable systems for recumbent height monitoring and the detection of naturally emitted human bio-magnetic field in real-world environments. For stimulation, I will introduce a dual-mode neuro-modulation framework for customized magnetic stimulation to boost efficiency and patient comfort. Finally, I will highlight ongoing efforts toward integrated closed-loop systems that combine brain stimulation with various mapping modalities, including improvement and modifications for TMS-MRI and TMS-EEG systems. 

Together, this work establishes a pathway towards close-loop whole-body sensing and stimulation system for next-generation healthcare. The talk will conclude by outlining my vision for future directions and possible collaborations within and beyond ECE department at UIUC. 

Keren Zhu is currently a Post-Doctoral Research fellow at Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, where she first joined in May 2023. Prior to that, she received the Ph.D. (2022) and B.S. (2017) degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the ElectroScience Laboratory at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, USA. From May 2021 to July 2021, she was a Student Intern with Altair Engineering Inc., Troy, MI, USA. Her research interests include neuromodulation, electromagnetics, circuit, and bio-medical sensors. Her publication record includes 1 book chapter, 3 patents, 8 journal papers, and over 10 conference papers and abstracts. She was the recipient of the pre-graduate scholarship at the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) in 2018, the Distinguished Graduate Student Award from The Ohio State University Women in Engineering in 2018, third place in three-minute Thesis contest award during 11th annual CERF technical Meeting in 2020, the “Best Student Paper Award” at the ElectroScience Laboratory Annual Awards Ceremony in 2021, third place in Student Paper Competition at the 2023 International Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES), and the recipient of the graduate fellowship at the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) in 2024.