Yao Qin, Ph.D.

Yao Qin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with an affiliation to the Department of Computer Science at UC Santa Barbara. She is also the co-Director of the REAL AI for Science initiative at UCSB and a Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind. She obtained her Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC San Diego, working on improving AI robustness and safety. Recently, her research is focusing on developing trustworthy models for diabetes care, including nutrition estimation, exercise, and closed-loop Automated Insulin Delivery systems. She has over 40 publications in top-tier AI conferences and journals and was recognized as a Rising Star in EECS by MIT in 2020. Her work on diabetes has been awarded the American Diabetes Association Early Career Abstract Award, 2025 and is currently undergoing FDA clearance.