LABS & CENTERS
Research Labs & Centers
Computing Division
The Secure Modeling and Intelligent Learning in Engineering Systems Lab
A forward-thinking interdisciplinary group of faculty and student researchers embracing outside-the-box thinking to develop cutting-edge AI-based solutions to some of the most pressing problems of our time. The translational research put forth by the SMILES team has an impact that extends beyond our community with marketable solutions in cybersecurity and healthcare that will benefit us all.
Director and PI: Khalid Malik, Director of Cybersecurity Programs, Professor, Division of Computing
The Pervasive Personalized Intelligence Center
a multi-university partnership between the University of Colorado Boulder, Oregon State University and the University of Michigan-Flint. The industry-focused research center operates under the supervision of the US National Science Foundation using the Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers model. The PPI Center supports the aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, national labs, and high-tech sectors looking to build intelligence platforms that predict, automate, detect, and diagnose, pushing intelligence to the edge of the network, where latency is critical and mobility, privacy, and context awareness are essential.
Engineering & Technology Division
The Computational Medicine and Biomechanics Lab
Focuses on using computational methods, experimentation, and engineering science as platforms to study cardiac disease, and to propose rational therapeutics for virtual patients. Our long-term vision is to develop non-invasive diagnostic tools and in silico systems to better advance clinical investigations. The current research projects of the lab is on arterial blood flow, cardiac mechanics, bioinspired microtechnology, and innovative medical devices!
Director: Yasser Aboelkassem, Assistant Professor of Digital Manufacturing Technology, Engineering Division
Math & Natural Sciences Division Research Labs
The Math & Natural Sciences Division houses research labs spanning cancer biology, fisheries management, wildlife ecology, microbiology, biosynthesis, and pollinator conservation. Explore the labs below to learn more about each director’s work.
The Chen Lab
Studies how cancer spreads and how environmental exposures like microplastics affect human health, using cutting-edge 3D cell culture models that closely mimic real tissues.
Director: You-Shin Chen, assistant professor of biology
The Dawson Lab
Focuses on fisheries management and improving native fish populations in Michigan and the surrounding Great Lakes.
Director: Heather A. Dawson, professor of biology
The Duncan Lab
Focuses on studying ways to improve musculoskeletal health in aging populations.
Director: Randall Duncan, professor of biology
The Hollis-Etter Lab
Studies the disease ecology of wildlife populations, especially zoonotic diseases.
Director: Karmen Hollis-Etter, associate professor of biology
The McLaughlin Lab
Characterizes transcriptional regulatory networks in bacteria and phage and discovers novel phage.
Director: Maeve McLaughlin, assistant professor of biology
The Miller Lab
Focuses on discovering biosynthetic pathways toward various natural products, with the larger goal of enabling their production through biomanufacturing.
Director: Garret Miller, assistant professor of biotechnology
The Theoretical Ecology Lab
Aims to build theoretical foundations to address empirically relevant problems in ecology. The lab currently focuses on the effect of plant-soil interactions on plant coexistence.
Director: Athma Senthilnathan, assistant professor of biology
The Starking Lab
Investigates how wildlife and their habitat respond to management, climate change, and land-use patterns to solve on-the-ground conservation issues.
Director: Melissa Starking, assistant professor of biology
The Sucic Lab
Studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms that initiate invasive behavior in triple-negative breast cancer.
Director: Joseph Sucic, professor of biology
The Tang Lab
Evaluates the phylogenetic relationships between fishes.
Director: Kevin L. Tang, professor of biology
The Tonietto Lab
Studies native bees and the plant communities that support them in cities and restored lands of the Midwest.
Director: Rebecca Tonietto, associate professor of biology