REU Site: MedIX: Medical Informatics Experiences in Undergraduate Research

Depaul University, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

The main objectives of the Medical Informatics (MedIX) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site program are to engage undergraduate students in challenging research projects, encourage them to pursue graduate education, and expose students to interdisciplinary research, especially at the border of information technology and medicine. The MedIX REU Site runs for three summers, with ten student participants doing research ten weeks each summer under the supervision of five mentors dedicated to undergraduate research. The REU Site is hosted by two interdisciplinary laboratories: the Medical Informatics Laboratory at DePaul University and the Imaging Research Institute at the University of Chicago. The research environment offers the students the opportunity to interact with computer scientists, medical physicists, and medical doctors. All of the projects are inspired by state-of-the-art research questions in imaging informatics. Students work as part of faculty-undergraduate teams on new problems ranging from traditional image processing (e.g., computer-aided diagnosis, breast density assessment, cancer detection) to structured reporting and natural language processing of radiology reports, to workflow and process re-engineering to the application of data mining and ontology-based means for image annotation and markup (e.g., lung nodule detection and interpretation). Ultimately, this REU site will help support students interested in imaging informatics, broaden participation in computer science. In addition, each project has the long-term potential to increase the quality of healthcare available to people everywhere. More information on the program can be found at the MedIX REU Site web site (http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/research/vc/medix).