Awarded in 2020
Home Department: Electrical Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Fei-Fei Li (Computer Science) and Yang Hu (Ophthalmology)

Research Title: Cellular in vivo Neurodegeneration Prediction Using Deep Neural Networks

Research Description: A key step in uncovering early pathogenic pathways and designing tailored treatments is the ability both to detect a neurodegenerative disease shortly after its onset and to predict its possible progression. Such an early diagnostic and prognostic strategy relies on the identification of dynamically related cellular markers of the pathogenic neurodegeneration process. Chien-Yi aims to develop a novel approach that combines cellular in vivo imaging with large-scale deep learning to discover reliable and objective markers of neuronal function and pathology, in order to directly assess the progress of neurodegenerative diseases and gauge the effects of neuroprotective treatments that are urgently needed for clinical trials.