Dr. Ruogu Fang, assistant professor, was awarded a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) supplement from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support her grant entitled, “CRII: SCH: Characterizing, Modeling and Evaluating Brain Dynamics.”

Two BME undergraduate students, Kyle B. See and Mohammad D. El Basha are conducting research on this grant. The REU program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the NSF. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or research projects specifically designed for the REU program

This grant aims to develop a framework for data-driven brain dynamics characterization, modeling and evaluation that includes the new concept of a 5th dimension – brain dynamics – to complement the structural 4-D brain for a complete picture. Brain dynamics, which reflects the healthy or pathological states of the brain with quantifiable, reproducible, and indicative dynamics values, remains the least understood and studied area of brain science despite its intrinsic and critical importance to the brain.

The project studies how dynamic computing of the brain as a distinct problem from the image reconstruction and de-noising of convention models, and analyzes the impact of different models for the dynamics analysis. Results from the project will be incorporated into Fang’s course in machine learning, computational neuroscience and medical image analysis.

The REU program seeks to expand student participation in all kinds of research – whether disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or educational in focus – encompassing efforts by individual investigators, groups, centers, national facilities, and others. The program seeks to attract a diverse pool of talented students into careers in science and engineering and to help ensure that they receive the best education possible.