News
Lighting up Hope
A laser therapy study, supported by UD’s Big Ideas Challenge, is being administered by DSI affiliated faculty member Roxana Burciu (left), assistant professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, and DSI affiliated faculty member John Jeka, professor of kinesiology and applied physiology (not pictured) whose research focuses on Parkinson’s disease (PD). The goal is to improve symptoms by targeting brain regions affected by Parkinson’s, such as the frontal cortex, which supports executive function and memory and helps control motor behavior.
For the Record
DSI affiliated faculty member Jennifer Kubota, associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, has been nominated president-elect of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS), a leading organization in the neuroscience community.
For the Record
DSI faculty council member Susan Conaty-Buck, assistant professor of nursing and family nurse practitioner, was selected to make two presentations at the 2025 American Association of Nurse Practitioner’s Annual Conference June 18 – 22.
Linked Health Risks
In a first-of-its-kind analysis recently published in the journal JAAC: Advances, DSI affiliated faculty member Tarang Parekh, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Delaware College of Health Sciences, and colleagues at Houston Methodist Hospital and Harvard Medical School, examined the state-level prevalence of CKM syndrome, using self-reported data from the Centers for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System from 2011 to 2023.
For the Record
DSI affiliated faculty members Tarang Parekh and Daniel Harris recently published a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, underscore the urgent need for disability-inclusive reforms as the nation looks beyond the pandemic.
Irrigation and Global Nutrition
A new study led by DSI resident faculty member Kyle Davis examined survey data from more than 9,000 rural communities comprising more than 70,000 households in 26 countries in the Global South, a designation given to 134 states from Central and South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. They then combined that data with global georeferenced datasets on irrigation infrastructure changes and found that dietary improvements vary depending on several factors, and the areas where irrigation expansion occurs do not automatically see an increase in food security simply because that area is growing more crops. This picture was taken during their dry season fieldwork in central Nigeria last March.
UD Launching First State AI Institute
With the launch of the First State AI Institute, UD will advance an open, human-centered vision of AI — one rooted in transparency, accountability and the public good. The institute will develop practical tools to help researchers analyze data and streamline complex tasks, while also exploring how AI can improve campus operations. The First State AI Institute is under the direction of DSI faculty council member Sunita Chandrasekaran, David L. and Beverly J.C. Mills Career Development Chair in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, with DSI faculty council member Rudi Eigenmann (center), Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and DSI Infrastructure Working Group Co-Chair John Huffman, director of IT-Research Infrastructure.
Firearm Storage Realities
DSI affiliated faculty member Tarang Parekh, assistant professor of epidemiology, examined links between social determinants of health (SDOH) and firearm ownership and storage practices in a recently published analysis in JAMA Network Open.
Opening a New Window into the Universe
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory stands atop a mountain peak in Chile, from which its telescope and camera will capture extraordinary information about our universe over the next 10 years as part of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). University of Delaware researchers and students, including DSI Associate Director John Gizis and DSI resident faculty members Federica Bianco and David Hong, have had leading roles in this project and anticipate many discoveries as scientists from around the world analyze the images and enormous amounts of data that will be available. The Rubin Observatory’s telescope is equipped with the world’s largest digital camera, about the size of a small car. In this February 2025 photo, a team member helps to position the camera after it was moved from the clean room and attached to the camera’s rotator for the first time.
DSI Experts on Tap for Global Science Event
UD is hosting a public watch party (6.23.25) to get a first look at images of the universe taken by the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which has the planet’s largest digital camera. DSI resident faculty member Federica Bianco, Rubin Deputy Project Scientist and Interim Head of Science, will participate from the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., where she will serve on a media panel. DSI fellows Siddharth (Sid) Chaini and Easton Honaker will serve as the event hosts and introduce the program. A panel of UD experts also will present, moderated by DSI faculty council member Tom Powers, director of the Center for Science, Ethics and Public Policy. Participants will include DSI Associate Director John Gizis from the Department of Physics and Astronomy and DSI resident faculty member David Hong from the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering, as well as UD students who have contributed to the realization of the project including DSI fellows Shar Daniels, Riley Clarke, and Willow Fox Fortino.
