Xiao is an associate professor in AI and digital health at the University of Birmingham, where she jointly leads a research and policy group focused on responsible innovation and regulatory science in AI health technologies. She is AI theme lead of the Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, co-lead for the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) incubator for AI and digital health, and advisor to the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on AI as software as a medical device.

She has led international efforts for responsible innovation in medical AI, including SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI and STANDING Together (www.datadiversity.org). Xiao also serves as a deputy editor at NEJM-AI and was previously an ophthalmology doctor in the UK NHS and a health scientist at Apple.