a man in a coat shakes the hand of a man wearing a prosthetic arm.

Computational Health

Our Purpose

Computing and data have transformed how we address questions in medicine and health science. We are committed to supporting innovative researchers and thinkers in computational health, as well as push discovery at the intersection of digital transformation, medicine and health sciences.

The Opportunity

We have the unique opportunity to apply data analytics and computational methodologies to important health research questions in whole new ways. This will allow us to revolutionize diagnostic tools, treatments and disease tracking all with the goal of improving human health. 

The following are just a few examples of how UC Noyce Initiative researchers are making an impact in computational health:

Emily Jacobs sits on a box with hands clasped resting on her knees. She is looking up off to the side of the image. Behind her and covering the box is wall paper that has rows and columns of human brains on a light blue background.

The Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Project

Most of what we know about health and disease centers on the male body. Neuroscientists overlook aspects of the human condition relevant to half of the global population (e.g. the menstrual cycle, the pill, pregnancy, menopause). The Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Initiative is one of the flagship projects of the UC Noyce Initiative. It is committed to advancing the study of women's brain health through deeply collaborative science.

Click this box to learn more about the Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Initiative.
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Ann, a research participant in a study of speech neuroprostheses led by UCSF's Edward Chang, is connected to computers that translate her brain signals into the speech and facial movements of an avatar. At left is UCSF clinical research coordinator Max Dougherty. (Photo by Noah Berger)

Communication Tools for Mute and Paralyzed

Assistant Professor Gopala Anumanchipalli utilizes computational models of spoken language to develop more effective and personalized communication tools for individuals who are unable to speak, including paralyzed individuals.

Click this box to learn more about this UC Noyce Initiative research project.
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Close up of human arm with sensors on it next to white robotic arm.

Making Prosthetics More Lifelike

UC Noyce Initiative researcher Jonathon Schofield uses bionic engineering and assistive robotics to improve prosthetic limbs. Schofield is part of a team of engineers, scientists and surgeons who working to make life easier for amputees through a combination of surgery, advanced machine learning and smart prosthetics.

Click this box to learn more about this UC Noyce Initiative project.
chen-nee chua portrait

AI and Alzheimer's Disease

This multi-campus collaborative team plans to develop an accessible deep learning framework for neuropathology and neuroradiology image analysis to aid deeper phenotyping of neurodegenerative (e.g. Alzheimer’s and dementia) and cerebrovascular (e.g. stroke) diseases.

Click this box to learn more about this UC Noyce Initiative project. 

Read more stories of UC Noyce Initiative researchers making an impact in computational health.