The Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Colorado Anschutz (CU Anschutz) hosted its first ever interdisciplinary symposium on May 4, bringing together researchers from seven Colorado institutions for a full day of collaboration, discovery and dialogue.
Held at CU Anschutz, the Scientific Computing, Informatics, Applied Mathematics, and Healthcare Technologies Symposium welcomed participants from CU Anschutz, CU Boulder, CU Denver, CU Colorado Spring, Colorado State University (CSU), Colorado School of Mines and the University of Denver. The symposium was organized by Nicholas Dwork, Melike Sirlanci and Carlos Rodriguez.
The agenda featured a dynamic mix of plenary talks, research presentations, tutorials and software demonstrations spanning genomics, artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling and clinical informatics. Highlights included plenary presentations from Jennifer Mueller, professor of mathematics and biomedical engineering at CSU, on radiation-free lung imaging technologies and Emily Jensen, PhD, assistant professor of systems and controls at the CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science, on distributed control systems, as well as a wide range of talks on topics such as gene-trait associations, pediatric lung function, tumor genomics and multi-omic risk prediction.
In addition to formal presentations, the symposium included a poster session and dedicated networking opportunities designed to foster new collaborations across disciplines and institutions.
Attendees emphasized the value of bringing together diverse perspectives from across Colorado’s research ecosystem. “The symposium was a great opportunity to connect with interdisciplinary researchers in Colorado,” said plenary speaker Jensen. “It gave me a new perspective about technical questions and challenges both in common and distinct from my own work. I'm hopeful that this chance to connect outside my typical circle will lead to exciting future research directions and collaborations.”
Stephen Becker, associate professor of applied mathematics at CU Boulder, echoed that sentiment, noting, “The best part was seeing work from so many Colorado universities.”
Mueller highlighted the event’s inclusive and collaborative environment, “It’s a diverse mixture of informative talks with well-engaged participants that brought together graduate students, post docs and faculty.”
By convening researchers across institutions and disciplines, the symposium underscored the growing importance of collaboration in addressing complex challenges in biomedical informatics and computational science, and set the stage for future cross-campus partnerships.