Medical Imaging Informatics Training Grant

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This new broad-based T32 proposal is focused on supporting graduate students pursuing imaging informatics research at UCLA. With the now ubiquitous usage of imaging as an in vivo method for objectively documenting and elucidating disease and the human condition, novel research challenges arise in the acquisition, the un- distending, and the usage of imaging and related (clinical) data to realize new knowledge and improved health outcomes. Led by the UCLA Medical Imaging Informatics (MII) group, this training program will support doctoral students from a variety of departments, including Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Studies. Students in Bioengineering specializing in medical imaging informatics fol- low a PhD program major structured around a 1-year core curriculum that provides a foundational basis in dif- ferment aspects of imaging informatics, covering information infrastructures/systems and clinical data standards; medical decision-making; medical knowledge representation and modeling; information retrieval; and the un- derlying principles of medical image acquisition, standardization, and content understanding. Students are ex- posed to the full spectrum of imaging informatics research; its applications; and its growing relation to other sub-disciplines, including bioinformatics and public health. Subsequently, predoctoral students further special- size in different areas through additional elective courses that provide advanced training in support of a disserta- tion area. Students from electrical engineering, computer science, and information studies participate in this training program through the completion of a minor, including coursework from the same 1-year core curricu- lum, and dissertation research addressing an imaging informatics area. Trainees are immediately engaged in imaging informatics research, with a wide range of opportunities to work with faculty on ongoing research pro- jects. Building from an existent imaging informatics program, this proposal further includes: 1) the formalization of a practicum for 1st year bioengineering graduates students during the summer, in coordination with the Vet- erans Administration and the Los Angeles County Health Department; 2) the development of a public health minor; and 3) the creation of new elective courses in the areas of clinical and imaging informatics. Faculty supporting this training program represents an interdisciplinary group of researchers from across the UCLA campus, including the Schools of Engineering & Applied Sciences; Medicine; Public Health; and Gradu- ate Education & Information Studies. Many of the faculty is nationally recognized leaders in their disciplines; collectively, these individuals provide a comprehensive and complementary set of (funded) research areas and skills that enrich the training experience.