Dr. Lixia Yao, PhD, FAMIA is Founder and CEO of Polygon Health Analytics, a healthcare AI and real-world evidence company focused on transforming fragmented healthcare data into actionable insights for biopharma innovation, clinical research, and patient care.
A recognized leader in biomedical informatics, artificial intelligence, and real-world data (RWD), Dr. Yao previously served as Director of Real-World Data Analytics & Innovation at Merck and as an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Mayo Clinic. With over two decades of experience spanning academia, industry, and entrepreneurship, she specializes in leveraging AI, real-world evidence (RWE), and advanced analytics to accelerate drug development, generate evidence at scale, and improve healthcare decision-making.
Dr. Yao earned her PhD in Biomedical Informatics from Columbia University and has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including Nature Biotechnology, Genome Research, and Drug Discovery Today. Her research has been widely cited, earning her an H-index of 27.
She is a Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA) and recipient of the National Library of Medicine Career Development Award. In addition to leading Polygon Health Analytics, Dr. Yao serves as Vice President for Advisor Alliance and AI at SAPA-GP, Chair-elect of the ISPOR Oncology Special Interest Group, and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration and Policy at Temple University.