معرفی
Lucas C. Parra is the Harold Shames Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the City College of New York (CCNY) within the City University of New York system. He also serves as an Affiliate Member of Radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center since 2020. As Ph.D. Program Director, he leads research at the intersection of neuroscience, machine learning, and medical applications, with a focus on understanding brain function and developing novel neurotechnology.
Dr. Parra received his Ph.D. in Physics from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in 1996, conducting research in machine learning under Gustavo Deco. Prior to joining CCNY, he worked on medical imaging at Siemens Corporate Research (1995-1997) and acoustic signal processing at Sarnoff Corporation (1997-2003).
Dr. Parra's research spans multiple cutting-edge areas in neural engineering and AI. His lab investigates how brain activity synchronizes across individuals during shared experiences like watching videos or listening to stories, with applications to education and media. They develop AI models for early breast cancer detection in MRI, reaching state-of-the-art performance. The lab also studies the effects of transcranial electrical stimulation on learning and cognitive processes, exploring potential therapeutic applications. Their work on eye tracking and physiological signals has demonstrated how these measures can predict learning outcomes in online education, potentially transforming how we assess student engagement.
Analysis of Dr. Parra's recent publications reveals a strong focus on applying AI to medical imaging, particularly for breast cancer detection in MRI. His lab has developed foundation models trained on tens of thousands of breast MRIs that can detect cancer up to one year in advance. There's also significant work on understanding neural dynamics during naturalistic stimulation, showing how brain, heart, and eye activity synchronize across individuals during shared experiences. The lab maintains a strong neuroscience foundation with ongoing research on transcranial electrical stimulation mechanisms and applications, particularly for motor learning enhancement.
- National Cancer Institute 5-year grant for machine learning in breast cancer screening
- NIH R01 grant to study effects of electric brain stimulation on motor learning
- NSF funding for assessing student attentional engagement during STEM instruction
- NSF project studying remote video-based instruction
Dr. Parra mentors numerous PhD students and postdocs whose work spans neural engineering, medical AI, and cognitive neuroscience. His lab has produced significant findings on intersubject correlation of physiological signals, demonstrating how synchronized eye movements predict learning outcomes. The lab maintains strong collaborations with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and other neuroscience research groups, working at the forefront of translating basic neuroscience discoveries into practical applications for healthcare and education.
