Our Mission

We aim to provide research experiences to students from institutions that do not have the research infrastructure or the interdisciplinary research opportunities available at the University of Iowa. We aim to attract students from underrepresented groups with an emphasis on first-generation students. Our efforts will contribute to preparing a workforce of young scientists who work alongside health professionals and will help maintain America's competitive advantage in science and technology.

Motivation

Our site is motivated by the considerable strain on the U.S. healthcare system due to short-term challenges, such as those posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, and long-term trends, such as an aging U.S. population. Computer scientists are in a unique position to help solve these and other problems in health and wellbeing. We can use big data to harness detailed, lifelong medical records to gain insights into how to improve the standard of care. Mobility information and other sensor data may be used to augment epidemiological models to forecast disease transmission nationally and at the hospital level. Hearing aids and cochlear implants may be personalized to empower patients and better meet their hearing needs. Web apps may engage neurodiverse children to help enhance their executive function through gameplay.