NYC Gazette

The Katz School of Science and Health has awarded 10 research grants to faculty for pioneering projects addressing critical issues in STEM and health sciences. These interdisciplinary initiatives range from developing artificial intelligence tools to assessing children’s playfulness, designing new treatments for women’s infertility, and creating digital healthcare solutions for underserved communities.

In collaboration with academic and industry partners, including Montefiore Medical Center, Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women, and Yeshiva College, the projects aim to tackle key challenges in medicine, technology, and social equity.

“This initiative is designed to stimulate new research and expand existing studies that increase the Katz School’s visibility while also creating research opportunities for full-time graduate students,” said Dr. Paul Russo, dean of the Katz School and vice provost of Yeshiva University. “The diverse research initiatives reflect the school’s commitment to advancing science, technology and healthcare to solve pressing real-world problems.”

David Sweet's project on "High-Dimensional Bayesian Optimization Expanding and Enhancing Faculty Research in STEM and Health" aims to improve a method called Bayesian Optimization. This technique helps design systems like AI models by running experiments essential for evaluating system performance but can be expensive and time-consuming. His team is developing a new algorithm to make this process faster and more efficient.

Anderson Oliveira's project titled "From Ocean Depths to Biotechnological Innovations: Characterizing Novel Luciferases" will study bioluminescence in deep-sea animals called cnidarians. The goal is to discover new enzymes responsible for light emission which could lead to improvements in biological studies such as drug screening.

Rajalakshmi Viswanathan's "Identification of Molecular Glues for Targeted Protein Degradation" investigates a new approach targeting traditionally undruggable proteins involved in diseases like cancer. The project uses small molecules called molecular glue degraders to bring problematic proteins close enough to enzymes that help degrade them.

Irina Catrina and Rana Khan are working on "Developing Tools for Fast and Sensitive Detection and Functional Analysis of Any RNA Target." This project focuses on understanding RNA movement within cells using advanced techniques to design probes that can detect RNA efficiently.

Margarita Vigodner's project on "Regulation of Transcription Factors by SUMO Proteins in Testicular Sertoli Cells," alongside Rana Khan, explores how these proteins influence fertility at the cellular level using transgenic mice.

Amiya Waldman-Levi and Honggang Wang are developing an AI tool named "AI-Powered Play Assessment" aimed at streamlining behavioral assessment processes in clinical practice through accurate video footage scoring.

Rana Khan collaborates with Youshan Zhang on the "Clinical Innovation in Rare Diseases Interactive Information Hub," an interdisciplinary project compiling comprehensive information on rare diseases into an interactive digital platform improving diagnosis likelihoods.

Radhashree Maitra's work involves exploring viral-based treatments for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) using oncolytic viruses aiming at hormonal imbalance correction offering targeted treatment options.

Mehdi Hasan is focused on designing a digital healthcare service tailored for underserved communities incorporating telemedicine aiming at improving patient outcomes through consistent care tracking via environmental health records.

Lastly, Ramesh Natarajan's project involves modifying large pre-trained AI models applying transfer learning methods aimed at solving real-world problems like medical image analysis through enhanced model performance adjustments.

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