Mei Rui, DMA
Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery
About Dr. Mei Rui
Dr. Mei Rui is the Founder and Director of Music-in-Medicine and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at MD Anderson. A pioneer in the field of Music Medicine, she is the principal investigator of several large-scale, multimodal clinical trials designed to quantitatively capture and assess the neurophysiological impact of music-based interventions on peri- and intraoperative stress, recovery, brain health, cognition, and surgeon's performance in the operating room. Her research has been published in high-impact journals including Surgery, Lancet's eClinical Medicine, and JMIR.
A Yale-trained molecular biochemist and an internationally acclaimed concert pianist, Dr. Rui has garnered top prizes at numerous international competitions including the 2015 World Piano Competition. She has performed in prestigious concert venues around the globe, including a season-opening recital at the Louvre Auditorium in Paris, Reina Sofia in Madrid, Taipei Concert Hall and the Hofburg Palace in Vienna attended by the Austrian president. A dynamic soloist and chamber musician, she has performed all the Rachmaninoff and Brahms Concerti, and has collaborated with renowned artists and conductors including Itzhak Perlman, George Manahan, Robert Trevino, and members of the Juilliard, Takacs and Escher Quartets.
Dr. Rui also founded and organizes a groundbreaking in-hospital concert series that integrates real-time neurobiological data collections on patients, physicians and professions musicians. Since fall 2023, she has organized and performed over 50 free in-hospital Music-in-Medicine concerts, and brought in dozens of Grammy-winning artists and ensembles to share their gift of musical healing at MD Anderson and beyond.
A sought-after international 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 conferences, including plenary and keynote sessions at the EBRAINS Summit in Brussels, American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Meeting, American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) Annual Meeting, Summit Baja, International Cancer Neuroscience Symposium, and Eudemonia Summit. In March 2026, she was invited by Princess Girona Foundation to present an innovative concert-experiment attend by King Felipe VI of Spain in Madrid. Upcoming engagements include a plenary talk at the Healing Arts Congress in Berlin and "Your Brain on Brahms"-a performance Brahms Concerto in Bb Major with Bogota Philharmonic integrating brain-synchrony mapping of the conductor and the soloist, and plenary sessions at Cartagena Festival.
In the News
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery - Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Director, Music-in-Medicine, Neurosurgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery - Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Artist Collaborator, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, Houston, TX
Jim Cross Endowed Chair, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Houston, TX
Research Interests
Areas of expertise: Music medicine, the neurophysiological mechanisms and impact of defined music intervention in clinical cohorts, evidence-based repertoire-selection methodologies
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2011 | Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, US, Doctor of Musical Arts, DMA |
| 2007 | Yale School of Music, New Haven, Connecticut, US, Art, Artist Diploma |
| 2006 | Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, MA |
| 2006 | Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, BA |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Assistant Research Professor of Music Medicine, Weill Cornel Medical College, New York, NY, 2020 - 2021
Assistant Research Professor of Music Medicine, Center for Performing Arts Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 2020 - 2021
Visiting Assistant Professor in Organic and General Chemistry, City College of New York, New York, NY, 2011 - 2012
Professor, City College of New York, New York, NY, 2008 - 2011
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Member, Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2024 - Present
Director, Music-in-Medicine, Neurosurgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2023 - Present
Other Professional Positions
Research Scientist, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 2019 - 2020
Clinical Research Scientist, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2019
Piano Soloist, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati, OH, 2015
Collaborative Pianist, Shepherd School of Medicine, Rice University, Houston, TX, 2012 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2015 | Bronze Medalist, World Piano Competition |
| 2005 | Bruce Simonds Fellowship for Excellence, Yale University |
| 2004 | Joseph Seldon Memorial Award for Excellence in the Arts, Yale University |
| 2003 | Sheffield Scientific Scholar for the Excellence in Sciences, Yale University |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine Initiative, Pop-up Concert in The Park, featuring Immortal Beloved, Piano works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Sergei Rachmaninoff, Mei Rui, piano. Conference. UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine Initiative, Concert in The Park, featuring 100 Years of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” Featuring the TMC Orchestra, MD Anderson Neurosurgery faculty and internationally award-winning concert pianist Mei Rui, DMA, soloist. Welcome remarks by Frederick Lang, M.D., chair of Neurosurgery, and live aesthetic brain-computer interface projection based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) by University of Houston’s neuroengineering team led by Jose L. Contreras-Vidal, Ph.D. Conference. UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine Initiative, Pop-up Concert in The Park, featuring Canadian Pianist Jonathan Mak. Conference. UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine Initiative, Pop-up Concert in The Park, featuring the Brahms Trio in Eb Major (Mei Rui, piano; Sophia Matthews, violin; Emma Potter, French horn). Conference. UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
National Presentations
- 2025. Keynote Presentation: Your Brain on Music. 2025 Chamber Music America (CMA) National Conference. Houston, Texas.
- 2024. Keynote talk and artist residency at Janelia Research Campus Concert-Experiment: Your Brain on Music. Ashburn, Virginia, US.
- 2021. Neurological and Physiological Impact of Music Intervention. Invited. Music Teacher's National Association. Atlanta, GA, US.
- 2020. Live Anxiolytic Music Intervention in the ICU to mitigate stress and burnout in health care providers. Invited. Music and Mind Live. Washington, DC, US.
- 2020. Invited Speaker: Integrating Live Virtual Performances in Clinical Environments during COVID-19 Pandemic. Invited. Texas Cultural Trust State of the Arts Council Meeting. Austin, TX, US.
International Presentations
- 2026. Keynote Presentation: Music as Medicine—The Impact of Music on Well-being.
- 2025. Keynote: Music as Medicine: Clinical and Scientific Applications. 2025 EBRAIN Summit. Brussels, BE.
- 2025. Keynote: The Future of Precision Music Medicine and EEG Brain Mapping Campus Biotech. ACCEL-Net Annual Meeting (Neurotechnology). Geneva, CH.
- 2024. Opening-night Plenary Presentation and Performance: The Art and Science of Sound Healing.
Formal Peers
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine. Visiting. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine. Visiting. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine. Visiting. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. Music-In-Medicine. Visiting. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. FOUN: 098 “Music & Our World” Foundation Seminar, The Science of Music in Medicine, Virtual Event. Invited, US.
- 2022. Music-in-Medicine and Music Intervention Research. Visiting, US.
- 2022. Music-in-Medicine and Music Intervention Research. Invited. Houston, TX, US.
- 2020. Science and Compositional Elements of Music Anxiolysis. Visiting, US.
- 2019. Science and Compositional Elements of Music Anxiolysis. Visiting, US.
- 2019. Music-in-Medicine and Music Intervention Research. Visiting, US.
- 2019. Music-in-Medicine and Music Intervention Research. Invited. Houston, TX, US.
- 2012. Masterclasses. Invited. Houston, TX, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2023 - 2023 |
| Title: | The City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) “Let Creativity Happen! 2023 |
| Funding Source: | Houston Arts Alliance |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2023 - 2033 |
| Title: | NO TITLE PROVIDED |
| Funding Source: | |
| Role: |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Rui M, Brandt A, Moore L, Hsu E, Karmonik C, Verma A, Valdivia Y Alvarado M, Frazier JT, Dhala A. Impact of Prescribed and Self-Selected Music Interventions on Stress, Sleep, Heart Rate Variability, and Brain Connectivity in Surgeons Using 7-Tesla Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Wearable Actigraphy: Multimodal Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Form Res 10:e84899, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42061859.
- Gao D, Luo Y, Guevara D, Wang Y, Rui M, Goldwyn B, Lu Y, Smith EC, Lebwohl M, Wei H. Benzo[a]pyrene and its metabolites combined with ultraviolet A synergistically induce 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine via reactive oxygen species. Free Radic Biol Med 39(9):1177-83, 2005. e-Pub 2005. PMID: 16214033.
Review Articles
- Huynh, A, Noll, KR, Ray, WJ, Lang Jr, FF, Rui, M. Toward precision music medicine in oncology care. EClinicalMedicine 96, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42326383.
- Rui M, Lee JE, Vauthey JN, Conrad C. Enhancing surgical performance by adopting expert musicians' practice and performance strategies. Surgery 163(4):894-900, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29336812.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 18, 2026