Computer Science Ph.D. student Mehdi Assefi has been selected to receive the Grimes Family Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Natural Sciences for the 2017 - 2018 academic year. This is a highly distinguished fellowship, and the department is very proud of his accomplishment! In one of his ongoing research projects in collaboration with Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Mehdi is utilizing big data infrastructures combined with machine learning techniques to make descriptive and predictive models for lung nodules analysis. Accurate diagnosis of lung nodules as either benign or malignant pulmonary abnormalities is of paramount importance to prevent misclassification of lung nodules, which may either lead to additional medical costs due to invasive surgery, unnecessary lung biopsy, prolonged hospitalization and/or physically aggressive treatment plans, or delays in diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Mehdi's major advisor is Dr. Hamid Arabnia of the Computer Science Department, and his co-advisor is Dr. Juan Gutierrez of the Mathematics Department.
