Hughie Tao, Xiaoyu

About Me

I am an Associate Professor at the Macao University of Tourism and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH). I'm also the Distinguished Professor of The Crestone College. My work sits at the intersection of lifestyle medicine, data science, and travel medicine, applying decision science, causal inference, and AI-oriented analytics to public health problems with a focus on health systems, behavioral determinants, and the epidemiology of mobility.

Since dedicating myself to higher medical education in 2019, I have been deeply engaged in frontline teaching. To date, I have delivered over 1,000 hours of instruction to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Throughout this journey, I have been committed to integrating foundational theoretical knowledge with cutting-edge clinical and research advancements. My goal is to help medical students at different stages build rigorous academic and clinical reasoning, laying a solid professional foundation for their medical careers.

Research Interests

Lifestyle Medicine

Healthspan management, behavioral determinants, and prevention-oriented care.
Decision Science & AI

Data analytics and causal inference for public health decision support.
Travel Medicine

Medical tourism, travel epidemiology, and disease mobility governance.

Education

DrPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics — Macau University of Science and Technology
PhD, Computer Science — The University of Southern Mississippi
MPH, Nutritional Epidemiology direction — Macau University of Science and Technology
MSc, Big Data and Business Analytics — University of Barcelona
BSc, Public (Health) Administration — Jilin Medical University
BSc, Applied Psychology — Jilin Medical University

Professional Experience

Associate Professor — Macao University of Tourism (Present)
Assistant Professor & Research Associate Professor — The Crestone College (5 years)
Executive Director — Hong Kong Public Health Technology Research Center (1 year)
Discipline Leader — Guangzhou College of Commerce (1 year)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow — School of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology (1 year)

Professional Certifications

Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH)
Certification in Public Health (CPH) — National Board of Public Health Examiners, USA
Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP-P)
Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®)
Teaching Qualification for Higher Education
Pharmacist
Health Manager

Research Grants

2023 — Guangdong Provincial Private Education Special Fund Project. Co-PI, RMB 1,200,000
2022–2023 — Ministry of Education Industry-University Cooperative Project. PI, RMB 50,000
2021–2022 — Macao Higher Education Fund Project. CI, MOP 308,200

Honors & Awards

Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH)
Dr. Henry Fok Foundation Scholarship, Macao SAR (2021)
3rd Prize, Macao Postgraduate Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition (2018)

Software Copyrights

Exercise and Nutrition Integrated Health Management System (UTM) V1.0 — 2025SR1988601
Personalized Travel Health Information Analysis and Decision Support System (UTM) V1.0 — 2026SR0500804