A multidisciplinary team of UMBC researchers was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to expand the use of digital twinning technology to diagnose, treat, and increase the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.

The use of digital twinning—a virtual model of a physical object—was developed by scientists and engineers at NASA as early as the 1960s. Within the last decade, the technology has grown in popularity across a range of industries and has more recently been implemented to advance healthcare diagnostics and treatments, explains Snigdhansu (Ansu) Chatterjee, professor of mathematics and statistics.

Chatterjee, the principal investigator of the UMBC-led study, is taking a closer look into the use of digital twinning to examine neurodegenerative diseases, supported by a nearly $900,000 grant from the NSF’s Foundations for Digital Twins as Catalyzers of Biomedical Technological Innovation (FDT-BioTech) program. The program, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the FDA, was created to foster advances in mathematics, statistics, computational sciences, and engineering required to develop responsive digital twin models that incorporate the abilities of artificial intelligence. UMBC was one of seven institutions awarded research funding to explore the development and use of digital twins in health care and biomedical research. The Washington Post mentioned the FDT-BioTech program in a recent article on the evolution of digital twin technology and its potential to transform healthcare.

The UMBC team will work to develop a prototype of their digital twin model for possible use for neuroscience researchers. The study will also address the ethical, legal, and social implications of using digital twin models in the context of healthcare and in studying neurodegenerative diseases using magnetic resonance-technology driven images (MRI) in particular. 

“There are various issues relating to the ethics of AI models and how you use the data, which is especially important when it comes to biological sciences and healthcare,” says Chatterjee. “All good scientists stay within ethical guardrails, and we’re defining what those guardrails are when it comes to using this technology to study neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.”

The study, which will run until 2027, includes co-investigators Karuna Joshi, professor of information systems, and Animikh Biswas, professor and chair of mathematics and statistics. Additional partners include researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Texas at El Paso. The project will also provide funding to support two graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher at UMBC who specialize in engineering, math, or statistics.

Joshi, who is the director of UMBC’s Center for Accelerated Real Time Analytics, explains that there has been an increase in the use of AI models in health prediction,  diagnostics, and determining treatment options.

“The explainability and the replicability elements of digital twinning are very critical to why the technology is becoming popular,” says Joshi. “We are looking to develop a ‘meta model’ of all of the various models that’s going to run the neuroimages we’ll study so that it can be explained, archived, and audited.”

Joshi adds that the study will allow for “a cross-pollination of ideas,” where engineering meets science, math, statistics, and healthcare in a very unique way.

More on artificial intelligence research at UMBC.

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University is hiring for its inaugural class of pre-doctoral research fellows in environmental economics to work with faculty mentors Ishan Nath, Anna Russo, Wolfram Schlenker, and Charles Taylor. 

Fellows will work on a wide range of research tasks across several fields of economics in a supportive, collaborative, and fun research environment. Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest and a resume/CV at the link below. We will begin reviewing applications on October 31st, and continue on a rolling basis until the positions are filled. 

https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=25240&siteid=5341#jobDetails=2011529_5341

The Center for Global Engagement invites UMBC faculty and staff to a professional development opportunity.

Please join us for a globally-focused event filled with sessions designed to support your research or professional aspirations. 

The day will include the ACIREMA lab: intercultural simulation designed to sensitize faculty and staff to the challenges faced by international students in the United States and breakout sessions that will cover a range of topics relevant to UMBC faculty and staff members including:

• International Student Work and Internship Opportunities
• The Fulbright Scholar Program: An Introduction
• Enhancing International Collaboration through Global Partnership
• International Student Recruitment: Overview and Strategies for Departmental Involvement
• Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
• International Travel Policies and Research Compliance

This free, on-campus event is open to all available and interested faculty and staff. Registration and more information can be found on the myUMBC event. CGE will follow up with more details closer to the event. Lunch will be provided. To reserve your space, please click the link below.

Apply for the Administrative and Office Support Student Trainee Program with the NIH. This is a paid internship with openings in the Maryland/DC area. If selected, you may be engaged in virtual projects/tasks related to your position and program area. The NIH Institute will share further information on the structure and content of the virtual program with you during the interview process. This announcement can be used to fill a variety of administrative positions such as HR Assistant, HR Specialist, Program Specialist, Program Support Assistant, Administrative Technician, Administrative Support, Management/Program Analyst, Budget Analyst, Contract Specialist, Contract Support, Purchasing Agent, Grants Management Specialist, IT Specialist, Computer Assistant, Technical Support, Auditor, Accountant, Public Health Analyst, Health Physicist, Engineer, Extramural Staff Assistant, Extramural Support Assistant, Ethics Program Assistant/Intern, Procurement Technician, Purchasing Agent, Communications Specialist, Supply Systems Analyst, Administrative Officer, Program Specialist, Lab Assistant, Library and Archives Assistant, 508 Compliance Specialist, Project Archivist, as well as many others.

This position opens on 10/21/2024 and closes on 10/25/2024

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/814119800

Homecoming is around the corner, and the calendar is full of favorite community events—along with some new opportunities and unique Halloween twists.

The festivities start off October 20, with the Student Org Kickball Tournament, an old tradition making a comeback thanks to Campus Life. Teams receive bragging rights (and prize money to spend on their student organizations). That night the Homecoming bonfire returns to light up the night.

Events really kick into high-gear on October 24 with GRIT-X talks by UMBC faculty and alumni, now given their own special night to celebrate research and creative achievements. The following Friday brings the carnival preview and Athletics Hall of Fame banquet with new Athletics Director Tiffany Tucker. Saturday, October 26, has the most activities to offer—featuring the famous puppy and pet parade, 5k and family fun run, Greek alumni day party, Taste of Maryland crab feast, men’s soccer game vs. Vermont, and much more.

“We do try to have something for everyone,” says Bobby Lubaszewski ’10, M.P.S. ’23, director of communications and marketing for the Office of Institutional Advancement and one of the event organizers. “This year’s event is close to Halloween, so we’re leaning into the Halloween theme with pumpkin painting for the kids and other activities.” 

A chance to celebrate and reconnect

Jess Wyatt, associate director of Alumni Engagement and another of the event organizers, says Homecoming offers Retrievers of all ages and backgrounds and their families a chance to connect. Her own kids enjoy the festivities each year and have made friends with colleagues’ children. 

Sara Osman ’09, modern languages and linguistics, and M.A. ’11, TESOL, recently started attending Homecoming as an opportunity to introduce her young kids to the campus where she and her husband, Karim Yergaliyev ’09, business technology administration, met. “We like to show our three-year-old and six-year-old the places around campus from our stories of the early years when we were dating,” Osman says. “It’s also a nice time to meet up with other alumni and their families.”

The Osman-Yergaliyev family not only re-lives old memories at Homecoming, they also create new ones. Last year, they were some of the few people still at the carnival as the rain came down. “We were playing ring toss when Karim won a stuffed unicorn so large we could barely get it home,” Osman says.

Something for everyone

The plethora of events showcase all UMBC has to offer. You can see demos of advanced AI robot technology one night, reconnect with your childhood on a carnival ride the next, and finish the weekend cheering on the UMBC soccer teams.

Homecoming this year also coincides with UMBC’s annual Livewire new music festival, an exploration of new sounds presented in six concerts over the three days from October 24 – 26.

New this year, the Physics Department is offering tours of the UMBC Observatory, including descriptions of telescope operations and the basics of astronomical detection. “Where else can you go to tour an observatory at Homecoming? That’s really cool!” says Wyatt.