About

Xiao-Li Meng is the Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics at Harvard University. His research interests include statistical theory and principles for data science, philosophical and foundational issues in statistics, statistical computing and computational statistics, signal extractions, and uncertainty assessments.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Molecular biology
• Cancer research

Selected publications

• Development of a rapid time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay for cannabidiol quantification in Cannabis sativa L

  Industrial Crops and Products · 2025-02-05 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  As a main cannabinoid of Cannabis sativa L., cannabidiol is widely found in cosmetics, vaping liquid, and food. This study aimed to develop a quantitative test strip based on time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay for onsite cannabidiol detection. A monoclonal antibody was prepared against a novel cannabidiol hapten-protein conjugate, with a half maximal effective concentration of 17.90 ng ml −1 and a detection limit of 2.66 ng ml −1 . Based on the monoclonal antibody, a test strip was constructed and validated for the detection of cannabidiol in the cannabis plant. The detection limit was 9.39 ng ml −1 and the detection range was 21.62–374.24 ng ml −1 . The monoclonal antibody proved high specificity as showing no cross-reactivity with nine common cannabinoids including delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabichromene, cannabigerol, cannabinol, cannabidivarin, cannabicyclol, cannabicitran, and cannabidiphorol. Spike/recovery test and analysis of real samples demonstrated that the test strip is an accurate, sensitive, and specific detection technique for cannabidiol identification in Cannabis . • A novel cannabidiol hapten was designed and synthesized, against which a highly specific monoclonal antibody was developed. • Time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay was applied to prepare lateral flow test strips for cannabidiol detection in hemp. • Cross-reactivity test suggested the test strips are highly specific for cannabidiol. • Spike/recovery test and a good correlation with the standardized HPLC method confirmed accuracy and repeatability of the test strips.

  PublisherDOI

• BELIEF in dependence: Leveraging atomic linearity in data bits for rethinking generalized linear models

  The Annals of Statistics · 2025-06-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The Role of Non-Catalytic Region in Determining the Difference in Efficiency Between Two Cellobiohydrolases Revealed Through a Genetic Approach

  Journal of Fungi · 2025-07-18

  articleOpen access

  The cellulose-binding domain and inter-domain linker play crucial roles in the degradation of crystalline cellulose by cellulases. Although significant differences exist in the degradation efficiency of cellobiohydrolase I (CBH I) derived from different fungal sources, the relationship between this efficiency diversity and variations in the non-catalytic region remains poorly understood. In this study, we found significant differences in the length and amino acid composition of the linker region of CBH I derived from Sordariomycetes and Eurotiomycetes. By replacing the non-catalytic region of Penicillium oxalicum CBH I with the corresponding segment from Trichoderma reesei, the cellulose conversion efficiency of the extracellular enzyme system doubled under the same protein dosage, and the adsorption of CBH I onto cellulose was improved. While replacing only the cellulose-binding domain improved the degradation efficiency of the enzyme system, additional replacement of the linker region resulted in greater enhancement. Improved degradation efficiency due to non-catalytic region replacement was observed under various conditions, including higher cellulose substrate concentration, reduced cellulose crystallinity, use of pretreated straw as a substrate, and degradation at physiological temperature. These findings provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying crystalline cellulose degradation by filamentous fungi.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Voltage Control Strategy for Doubly Salient Electromagnetic Generator With Active Rectifier Based on Optimal Current Distribution

  IEEE Access · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The doubly salient electromagnetic generator (DSEG) has the advantages of simple structure, high-temperature and high-speed environment adaptability, high reliability, which can build a competitive aerospace brushless DC starting/generation system. The dynamic response of the power generation system with diode rectifier (DR) is limited by the DC-link capacitor and the large time constant of the excitation winding. The adoption of active rectifier (AR) can increase the output power, reduce the copper loss, and improve the system efficiency. Either the excitation current or the armature current can be adjusted to control the output voltage in the generation system with AR. However, adjusting only one of the two currents cannot achieve optimal performance in terms of dynamic response and copper loss. This paper proposes an optimal current distribution control (OCDC) strategy for the active rectifier power generation system, which is based on the back electromotive force (EMF) oriented vector control (BEFOVC) strategy. By using an armature current inner loop to replace the excitation current inner loop and controlling the excitation current according to the minimum copper loss trajectory (MCLT), the OCDC strategy improves the dynamic performance and reduces the copper loss of the DSEG system. Simulations and experiments comparing the traditional voltage control strategy with the proposed strategy verify the feasibility and superiority of the OCDC strategy.

  PublisherDOI

• Analysis of Asynchronous Excitation Synchronous Generator for Distributed Generation

  2025-06-22

  article

  This paper proposes a structure of asynchronous excitation synchronous generator based on a three-stage synchronous generator. The motor structure utilizes the slip rate of the asynchronous generator, which can reduce the rotor frequency to a lower frequency without the need for a rotating rectifier, thereby reducing rotor losses and simplifying the motor structure. When the loop is open, the motor model is simplified, and three-phase symmetrical alternating current is used to supply power to the stator winding of the exciter to obtain the output of the main generator. When in a closed loop, a double closed-loop structure is required to control the phase of the DC side voltage to be ahead of the stator phase voltage of the exciter, so as to achieve energy transfer. This paper analyzes the motor structure, operating principle and energy transfer process of the asynchronous excitation synchronous generator. And an open-loop model of the motor was established in Maxwell software for simulation, verifying the feasibility of this method.

  PublisherDOI

• Construction method of fault function test case for Primary-Secondary fusion switch in distribution network

  Electric Power Systems Research · 2024-07-10 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• 3-Dimensional Direct Sampling-Based Environmental Contours of Winds and Waves Using a Transformation Kernel Density Estimation and R-Vine Copula Approach

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Sensitivity Analysis and Approximate Dynamic Programming based Voltage Control Strategy for Three-Level Coordination of "Substation"-"Feeder"-"Distribution Unit-Area"

  2024-05-17

  article

  Distributed energy resources are integrating into distribution networks rapidly in recent decades, bringing new voltage coordinated control issue for distribution networks. A voltage coordinated control LQR optimization model is proposed based on voltage - control inputs sensitivity for three-level coordination of "Substation"-"Feeder"-"Distribution Unit-Area" considering the active and reactive power control capabilities of distributed energy resources, including photovoltaic generation, energy storage, reactive power compensator at user side, and transformer tap changer in substation. An approximate dynamic programming based optimization algorithm is proposed to obtain the optimal control strategy. The proposed optimization model and algorithm are verified by case studies on a substation system. Case study results demonstrate that the proposed optimization model and algorithm can enhance the voltage profile of the substation system, and the line losses can be reduced as well.

  PublisherDOI

• Photo-induced hydroxypentafluorosulfanylation of alkenes with SF5Cl and oxygen gas and their further derivatization

  Nature Communications · 2024-11-09 · 24 citations

  articleOpen access

  Fluorinated or fluoroalkylated alcohols are common structural motifs in biologically active molecules, natural products, and pharmaceuticals. However, pentafluorosulfanyl (SF5) alcohols, a unique class of SF5 compounds that serve as synthetically valuable building blocks, are difficult to prepare with current methodologies. In this article, we present a single-step, metal-free, and photo-induced hydroxypentafluorosulfanylation of styrenes or α,β-unsaturated esters/amide, producing a series of structurally diverse pentafluorosulfanyl alcohols with up to 89% yields. This reaction is mild and operationally simple, using molecular oxygen as the hydroxy source. The protocol is suitable for a wide range of alkenes, including natural products and drug molecule derivatives. The formed SF5 alcohol units can be readily converted into diverse functionalized SF5 compounds, such as α-SF5 ketones, SF5 diols, and SF5 cyclic carbonates. The potential applications of these SF5 compounds in pharmaceutical and material sciences are vast, making this research a step forward in the field. Pentafluorosulfanyl alcohols, compounds that serve as synthetically valuable building blocks, are difficult to prepare with current methodologies. Herein, the author report a single-step, metal-free, and photo-induced hydroxypentafluorosulfanylation of styrenes or α,β-unsaturated esters/amide for the synthesis of pentafluorosulfanyl alcohols.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• From COVID-19 to GPT-4o: The Groundbreaking Quinquennium for Harvard Data Science Review (and Humanity)

  Harvard Data Science Review · 2024-08-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Fang Wang

  Tongji University

  31 shared

• Yin Guo-rong

  30 shared

• Lin Liu

  Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine

  26 shared

• Hongli Liu

  Huazhong University of Science and Technology

  13 shared

• Hailong Wang

  Harvard University

  11 shared

• Hai-Long Wang

  Shanxi Medical University

  11 shared

• Li-Tian Yin

  Shanxi Medical University

  10 shared

• Dan L. Nicolae

  10 shared

Labs

• Sports Analytics Laboratory at Harvard UniversityPI

Education

• Ph.D., Statistics

  Harvard University

  1993

• M.S., Statistics

  Harvard University

  1989

• B.S., Mathematics

  University of Science and Technology of China

  1985