Dr. Mei Rui is Director of Music-in-Medicine and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at MD Anderson in Houston, USA.  Dr. Rui is the principal investigator of several large-scale, multimodal clinical trials designed to quantitatively capture and assess the neurophysiological impact of music-based intervention on brain health, surgical performance, and wellness in cancer patients, physicians, caregivers, and musicians. Dr. Rui also organizes a world-class Music-in-Medicine concert series featuring live neurophysiological data collection—designed to quantitatively capture the powerful impact of immersive live performances on neural activation, mood, stress and inflammatory biomarkers, empathy, and emotional regulation in cancer patients, physicians, and caregivers.  Her research also evaluates outcomes including flow state, performance anxiety and peak human performance in concert artists. Since founding Music-in-Medicine in Fall 2023, Dr. Rui has hosted 50+ world class concerts featuring numerous eminent artists and ensembles including Emanuel Ax, Stella Chen, Cho-liang Lin, Valentin Radutiu, members of the Takács, Escher, Juilliard and Schumann Quartets; and concertmasters and principal players of numerous symphony orchestras.

A Yale-trained molecular biochemist and an internationally award-winning concert pianist, Dr. Rui was a Medalist at the 2015 World Piano Competition.  Her playing was raised by the Boston Globe as a “riveting virtuoso,” by the Cincinnati Enquirer as a “brilliant pianist with a satiny touch,” and by Boston Musical Intelligencer as an artist with “deeply felt and intense musicality.” New York Classical Review writes of her Grammy-nominated recording “Three by Three” by Eric Nathan (Albany Records): “Rui was amazing at what seemed to be impossible; an excellent pianist with extreme virtuosity.”  Rui has performed at prestigious concert venues around the globe, including a season-opening recital at the Louvre Auditorium in Paris and the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.  She has collaborated with eminent artists including Emanuel Ax, Robert Trevino, Roger Tapping, and Itzhak Perlman.

A pioneer in the field of Music Medicine and a sought-after speaker, Dr. Rui has been invited to present her innovative research and captivating performances integrating real-time EEG and Brain-computer interface (BCI) mapping at numerous internationally and national conferences, including plenary and keynote sessions at the 2025 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, American Society of Neuroradiology Annual Meeting, Summit Baja, and Eudemonia Summit. In March 2026, she was invited by Princess Girona Foundation to present a groundbreaking concert-experiment integrating 3D, real-time brain-computer interface mapping for King Philip VI of Spain in Madrid.