People

Yi (Jason) Hua, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Hua directs the Vision Laboratory at the University of Mississippi. His expertise is in biomechanics, and his research focuses on how biomechanics contributes to visual impairment and dysfunction associated with diseases and injuries of the eye and brain.

Dr. Hua's research methods include:

• • Computational modeling, which includes finite element analysis, meshfree methods, and computational fluid mechanics

  • Imaging techniques such as polarized light microscopy (PLM), light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM), confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT), laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), and super-resolution ultrasound 

  • Image processing including segmentation, digital image correlation (DIC), and digital volume correlation (DVC)

  • Macro and micro-mechanical testing of tissues

  • Shock tube experiments

Dr. Hua's educational background includes a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Nantong University, China in 2008. He then obtained his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China in 2011. He completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2016, under the supervision of Prof. Linxia Gu, who is currently at Florida Tech.

From 2016 to 2023, Dr. Hua worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Ocular Biomechanics at the University of Pittsburgh, under the guidance of Prof. Ian Sigal. During this period, Dr. Hua received a fellowship from the BrightFocus Foundation to study blood flow and oxygenation in the optic nerve head located at the back of the eye.

After completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Hua joined the University of Mississippi and established The Vision Laboratory.

yhua@olemiss.edu

Baudrul Mohammad Shahjalal

Baudrul earned his B.S. in Pharmacy (2013) from Primeasia University in Bangladesh. He then completed an M.S. in Clinical Pharmacy and Molecular Pharmacology (2016) at East West University in Bangladesh, followed by an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering (2025) at Gannon University in the US. His current research focuses on imaging and quantifying the spatial distribution of glycosaminoglycans in the cornea and sclera.

bshahjal@go.olemiss.edu

Utsab Acharya

Utsab earned his B.S. in Physics (2013) from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. He then completed an M.S. in Physics (2017) at Tribhuvan University, followed by another M.S. in Physics (2025) at the University of Mississippi. His current research focuses on how glycosaminoglycan degradation influences the biomechanics of the sclera and optic nerve head.

uacharya@go.olemiss.edu

Milan Rai

Milan earned his B.S. in Physics (2009) from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. He then completed an M.S. in Physics (2011) at Tribhuvan University, followed by another M.S. in Physics (2025) at the University of Mississippi. His current research focuses on modeling hemodynamics within the optic nerve head.

mrai1@go.olemiss.edu

Lydia Schwartz

Lydia earned her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering (2024) from the University of Mississippi. Her current research focuses on developing finite element models to study the biomechanical environment within the optic nerve head.

lnmille1@go.olemiss.edu

Nancy Sharma

Nancy earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (2024) from the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, India. Her current research focuses on developing finite element models to study how myopia alters the biomechanical environment within the optic nerve head.

nsharma4@go.olemiss.edu

Luke Habeeb

Luke is pursuing a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Mississippi. His current research focuses on characterizing structural and biomechanical changes in the cornea following photochemical cross-linking.

ldhabeeb@go.olemiss.edu

Aarzu Joshi

Aarzu is pursuing a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Mississippi. Her current research focuses on quantifying optic nerve head hemodynamics and its relationship with intraocular pressure and cerebrospinal fluid pressure.

ajoshi4@go.olemiss.edu

Serah Oommen

Serah is a student at Oxford High School. Her current research focuses on developing finite element models to study eye deformation under elevated intraocular pressure.

serah.a.oommen@gmail.com