Texas ECE is on the front lines of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. Our researchers are racing to develop innovations to support the fight against COVID-19. Here are some Texas ECE research projects being developed to address the coronavirus pandemic:
Deployment of a real-time trustworthiness assessment to ensure only the best, most reliable sources and associated data are used for monitoring the incidence of COVID-19, providing confidence to citizens and health care workers alike.
Dr. Suzanne Barber
A project to establish an integrated patient sample biobank and clinical database within Travis County with which we will comprehensively profile COVID-19 immune responses, identifying risk factors for disease severity to optimize patient care and medical resource allocation.
Dr. Joydeep Ghosh
in collaboration with:
Esther Melamed, Dell Medical School
Justin Rousseau, Dell Medical School
Todd Triplett, Dell Medical School
Lauren Ehrlich, College of Natural Sciences
Application of newly discovered, high-throughput phenotyping methods to better predict wildly variable differences in patient vulnerability and outcomes, helping to predict infection progression, facilitate customized patient care, improve health outcomes and reduce the load on medical staff and equipment.
Dr. Joydeep Ghosh
Adaptation of an online, cooperative game for elementary school children to encourage physical activity and social connection during school closures associated with COVID-19, ensuring teachers can help students remain physically healthy and academically engaged.
Dr. Christine Julien
in collaboration with:
Darla Castelli, College of Education
Use of mathematical modeling coupled with computer simulations to map the efficacy of mild to extreme levels of social distancing, allowing for data-driven, proactive responses to protect the population.
Dr. Radu Marculescu
Development of an EMS dispatch system that uses real-time information to rapidly adapt to changing situations and disruptions, guaranteeing that ambulances arrive at scenes quickly and patients are distributed optimally among care facilities.
Dr. Evdokia Nikolova
in collaboration with:
Ngoc Tran, College of Natural Sciences
Development of a non-biological test based on passively captured digital traces such as voice, breathing and coughing sounds, helping to solve the urgent need for an early-detection mechanism to help health workers triage individuals who need biological tests.
Dr. Edison Thomaz
Research using analysis of viral genomic data to enable discovery of disease transmission patterns, improving understanding of the spread of COVID-19 and its transmission dynamics, aiding identification of vulnerable social groups, tracing disease origins and aiding discovery of potential new mutated strains.
Dr. Haris Vikalo
Development of SafeTrace, a COVID-19 contact tracing system that uses mobile devices and also integrates state-of-the-art communication algorithms and protocols to de-identify users, creating the first ever COVID-19 contact tracing system that fundamentally protects user privacy.
Dr. Sriram Vishwanath
