Physiotherapist & researcher
Physiotherapist. Researcher.
Lifter. Runner.
I’m based in Beijing, working on musculoskeletal research at Peking University. Outside research, you’ll find me lifting or running.
Now · September 2026
I’m a pre-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Sports Medicine, Peking University.
My current work brings together ankle imaging, medical AI and rehabilitation outcomes. I’m developing methods to measure osteochondral injuries, studying how AI performs in a new clinical setting, and using existing rehabilitation data to understand recovery.
Selected projects
My work connects musculoskeletal imaging, the reliability of medical AI, and the outcomes that matter in rehabilitation.
AnatoChain
I’m developing models that learn from segmentation errors to improve the outputs of other medical imaging systems. I test when correction adds value over re-segmentation or ensembling, and whether it preserves predictions that were already accurate.
Ankle MRI
I work on automated detection, localisation and measurement of osteochondral lesions of the talus on routine ankle MRI. The aim is to produce reproducible lesion-level measurements that support clinical assessment and reduce manual work.
MedMR-AgentBench
I study how autonomous research systems choose medical imaging models when the task or hospital changes. This project separates finding stronger models from selecting the right one, then tests how gains hold up across architectures and clinical sites.
Chest X-ray AI
I investigate how a hospital can use a limited set of local labels to select and calibrate chest X-ray AI. The work focuses on the positive cases needed for stable thresholds and the balance between additional detections and false alerts.
Recovery & care
My rehabilitation research examines function after pain relief, the professional and patient effort involved in home rehabilitation, and recovery efficiency after joint replacement. I use trial records and existing longitudinal cohorts to study decisions about follow-up and care.
Secondary analyses of two randomised trials examine what measuring function adds to follow-up beyond pain scores in people with chronic low back pain.
A registry-based study examines whether trials report professional contact and independent patient exercise when home or digital care replaces supervised treatment.
An analysis of an open rehabilitation cohort studies how mobilisation timing and starting function relate to functional gain per day of inpatient rehabilitation.
I’m examining how the effects of exercise vary across the severity spectrum of hip osteoarthritis, including patients awaiting hip replacement.
I contribute to a systematic review of premature or severe endogenous estrogen loss and osteoarthritis, distinguishing defined causes of hormone loss and specific joint outcomes.
My collaborative musculoskeletal research connects CT and MRI measurements with patient outcomes, including the role of subchondral structure in osteochondral lesions of the talus.
About me
I’m a physiotherapist and researcher who also loves to train.
I studied Sports and Exercise Science at Lancaster University, then Physiotherapy at the University of East Anglia. Powerlifting and running have stayed part of my life throughout.
Clinical training at Cambridge University Hospitals and research at the University of Oxford led into my current work at Peking University’s Institute of Sports Medicine. I’m interested in how we measure injury and recovery, and what those measurements change in practice.
Outside research
I enjoy the work of getting stronger and building endurance. Training is something I do for myself, as well as something I study.
My undergraduate dissertation grew out of that interest: I used treadmill testing to study how running power, heart rate and perceived effort relate to oxygen consumption.
Curriculum vitae
Sports science at Lancaster. Physiotherapy at UEA. Clinical experience in Cambridge, musculoskeletal research at Oxford, and sports medicine research in Beijing.
Read my education, research and clinical experience in the online CV.
Read my CVGet in touch
For research collaborations, academic enquiries, or a conversation about movement, training and shared interests.
z.zhe.yuan@outlook.com