SAM & Collaborators Recieve Grant

University of Pittsburgh professors Caterina Rosano, Bob Bourdreau (Epidemiology), Bill Layton (Mathematics), and Liz Marai (Computer Science), in association with the Center for Simulation and Modeling, have been awarded the 2009 University Research Council Multidisciplinary Small Grant to establish a Program on Geriatric Research in Ambulatory and Cognitive Excellence (GRACE).  The purpose of this seed funding, according to the URC web page, is to enhance opportunities for the University's faculty to engage in multidisciplinary research, scholarship, and creative endeavors.  The Multidisciplinary Small Grant Program is sponsered by the Office of the Provost and the University Research Council.

GRACE aims to connect neurological aging with mobility impariment in older adults through medical imaging, mathematical analysis, and computational tools.  The program goals are to:

• Implement efficient automated procedures for correlating multiple mobility factors with cognitive measurements,
• Develop new practical regression algorithms capable of handling very large databases of measurements,
• Design novel visual paradigms for effective mining and communication of multidimensional and multicomponent correlations between observed ambulatory characteristics and cognitive measurements.

By connecting the Departments of Computer Science, Epidemiology, Mathematics and the Center for Simulation and Modeling, the GRACE program hopes to help position the University of Pittsburgh as a leader in the field of geriatric research.