Computational Biology & Medicine
With the increasing availability of data and the improved understanding of system-level interactions in biological systems, computational methods have found many applications in biology and medicine. Research in CISE develops algorithms for long-standing problems in computational biology, such as predicting and characterizing protein interactions, optimizing metabolic networks, and developing computational neuroscience models. Another line of research develops computational methods to advance experimental observation techniques used in biology, from imaging methods to atomic force microscopy. A burgeoning area of research applies Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to medical data, leading to disease/outcome prediction models and medical decision-making tools.
Cyber-Secure Bio-Electronic Capsules: Transforming Healthcare and Environmental Monitoring
Pioneering an unprecedented method for tracking gastrointestinal (GI) health and environmental conditions, Rabia Yazicigil, a CISE Faculty Affiliate and Assistant Professor at Boston University (ECE, BME), has been awarded the prestigious 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award. Yazicigil’s research on cyber-secure biological systems (CSBS), particularly the miniaturized ingestible bio-electronic capsule, is the first of […]
SCH: INT: Distributed Analytics for Enhancing Fertility in Families
The demands of modern life, education and career choices, as well as the availability of assisted reproductive technologies, are leading many individuals and couples to delay childbearing. This has contributed to infertility and sub-fertility emerging as significant public health problems in the U.S., affecting about 15% of couples, involving both men and women, and resulting […]
Cheng & Tian’s Newest Microscopy Advance Published by Nature Communications
Professor Ji-Xin Cheng’s research group has made notable strides in improved chemical imaging technologies, especially for medical purposes, over the last few years. Their latest, the development of a new type of mid-infrared photothermal (MIP) microscope, was published by Nature Communications in December. The paper, co-authored by collaborator and CISE affiliate Professor Lei Tian, Post-Doctoral Associate […]
Two BU Researchers Receive over $1 Million Each in Funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Imagine being able to watch the smallest units of life—like cells and molecules—working together in real time. Seeing and measuring biological processes, a field called dynamic imaging, can help scientists unlock tremendous knowledge for treating diseases, from cancer to Alzheimer’s. In an effort to take biological imaging to the next level, two Boston University College […]
Bond-selective intensity diffraction tomography
Recovering molecular information remains a grand challenge in the widely used holographic and computational imaging technologies. To address this challenge, we developed a computational mid-infrared photothermal microscope, termed Bond-selective Intensity Diffraction Tomography (BS-IDT). Based on a low-cost brightfield microscope with an add-on pulsed light source, BS-IDT recovers both infrared spectra and bond-selective 3D refractive index […]
GCR: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MICRO-BIO-GENETICS FOR PROGRAMMABLE ORGANOID FORMATION
This project aims at defining a new area of dynamically-controlled, robot-assisted biological design. A convergent research team consisting of experts in microrobotics, machine learning, and synthetic biology will focus on developing a radically new approach towards analyzing and replicating intricate cellular patterning in mammalian tissues. Not only will this research result in new biological rules, […]
Powerful Updates to Novel Computational Imaging Device Featured in Optica
Prof. Lei Tian (ECE, BME) and his team, led by PhD students, Yujia Xue (PhD, ECE, 2022) and Qianwan Yang (PhD student, ECE) published their paper “Deep-learning-augmented Computational Miniature Mesoscope” that describes advances to their Computational Miniature Mesoscope (CM2) project. This paper, published in the prestigious journal Optica, presents the CM2 V2, a more powerful […]
Efficient Two-Photon Voltage Imaging of Neuronal Populations at Behavioral Timescales
Understanding how information is processed in the mammalian neocortex has been a longstanding question in neuroscience. While the action potential is the fundamental bit of information, how these spikes encode representations and drive behavior remains unclear. In order to adequately address this problem, it has become apparent that experiments are needed in which activity from […]
Machine learning reveals new factor for predicting a stroke survivor’s ability to regain language skills
Despite centuries of study, the human brain remains one of science’s greatest mysteries. Most research focuses on how the brain responds to change, but researchers are beginning to shift from studying the effect of the brain injury to recovery and healing. Neuroscientists and computer scientists at Boston University (BU) teamed up to create a method […]
How Computational Imaging is Helping to Advance In-Vivo Studies of Brain Function
New BU-developed wearable device integrates miniature optics and computational algorithms to enable cortex-wide, cellular resolution imaging of the brain in freely moving animals The ability to study and learn about the brain hinges on what technology is available. Current wearable brain imaging technologies are limited by a small field of view. An interdisciplinary team at […]