“It’s really just allowing us to look at the overall functioning of the brain in a very concise manner,” Talavage said. “Then we can assess the state of the brain and the trajectory it’s following.”

The team’s project was one of eight that were chosen for Purdue’s Integrative Data Science Initiative after a competition for funding. The initiative will advance Purdue’s data science-related research and education by funding projects that target four focus areas: health care; defense; fundamentals, methods, and algorithms; and ethics, society and policy. The projects were chosen to integrate data science programs with campus-wide courses and curricula, and are hosted by Purdue’s Discovery Park.


The interdisciplinary research team is composed of four faculty members from several engineering departments at Purdue. Other members of the team include Yunjie Tong, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, and Mario Ventresca, assistant professor of industrial engineering. After the conclusion of the two-year funding period with the Integrative Data Science Initiative, the team hopes to work with clinicians on implementing their tool.

“When I came three years ago to Purdue, one of my most ambitious aims was that we get Purdue to be known for our work on brain connectomics,” Goñi said. “I really think that thanks to this project, we have a chance to make that happen. In my name and in the name of all the other team members, we are really grateful for this opportunity and this project. We are super excited to move forward.”


About Discovery Park
Discovery Park is an open laboratory for interdisciplinary collaboration focused on global challenges. Its mission is to accelerate world-changing interdisciplinary research, enrich transformative education and advance the translation of innovation to commercialization activities of faculty, students and staff.

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