GREENVILLE, Pa.—Thiel College Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Ronald Anderson, Ph.D. ’07 has completed his doctoral work at Texas Tech University in electrical engineering earlier this year and will continue his research collaboration with Texas Tech in 2019 on several fronts.
As part of his doctoral work, Anderson presented a paper titled “Ground-Truth Assessment of an SFFS Method for Sub-Group Feature Identification in Heterogeneous Data Sets” at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Computer-Based Medical Systems conference during June in Karlstad, Sweden. This paper was based on his dissertation research into biomarker detection of disease states in patient medical data. Many disorders, such as autism, are difficult to diagnose since they are characterized by a number of possible symptoms. Efficient biomarker detection for such disorders is a key requirement for medical diagnosis and effective treatment. He hopes his research will assist the medical community in improving the diagnosis of such disorders. This research work is ongoing.
Anderson is beginning new collaborative work with Bijoy K. Ghosh, Ph.D., of the Texas Tech Mathematics and Statistics Department and John Lawrence, Ph.D., of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center on computational models of memory and associated cellular connectivity in the brain. In a broad exploration effort, their collaboration seeks to provide significant medical and scientific merit for an improved process of computerized assessment in the hippocampus area of the brain, particularly in the areas of autism and Alzheimer’s. Anderson was awarded financial support to return to Texas Tech University as a research consultant for the summer of 2019 to continue the collaborations for this Hodgkin-Huxley computational modeling.
Anderson was selected along with 23 other researchers, faculty, and post-doctorate scholars, to attend a two-week National Institute of Health-funded computational neuroscience workshop at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Other participants included faculty members from the University of Hawaii, Yale University, Cornell University, Stanford University and other institutions. The workshop covered Hodgkin-Huxley computational modeling of neurons, the primary signaling cells in the brain.
“This training course will greatly assist me with my future research work and, I hope, serve as a foundation for future student research projects at Thiel College,” Anderson said.
Currently, Anderson is providing data analysis expertise for Texas Tech University associate professor Hyo Jung Chang, Ph.D., on one of her recent neuromarketing studies examining the style sense between elderly and their caregivers. His consulting centers on the statistical analysis of brain images to uncover similarities and differences in perceptions of fashion between the elderly and their caregivers.
Additionally, Anderson and colleagues presented results from two ongoing projects titled “A GENESIS Neural Network Model Based on the Turtle Visual System” and “Evaluation of Sequential Feature Selection in Heterogeneous Data via Simulated Structures” at the 40th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Engineering in Medicine and Biology during July in Honolulu, Hawaii. These results were related to Anderson’s master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation, respectively.
About Thiel College
Thiel College is an independent college founded in the Lutheran tradition. Located in Greenville, Pa., the College offers 60 majors and minors, 24 varsity sports, and an 11:1 student-faculty ratio. The College is also home to a new Master of Science in speech-language pathology and 2Master of Business Administration. Both master’s degree programs offer innovative and accelerated five-year paths which allow students to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years. The speech-language pathology program also has an accelerated 15-month graduate-level program. The M.B.A. program also has a 12-month post-graduate program.A dedicated faculty paired with dynamic research and internship opportunities produce numerous graduate school and job placements. Coeducational from its beginnings, the College remains committed to combining tradition with innovation as it celebrates 150 years.