Rong Chen

Rong Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He serves as Associate Vice Chair of AI and leads the Biomedical Data Mining Laboratory, focusing on integrating machine learning, computational neuroscience, and neuroimaging to decode brain-behavior relationships. His work spans clinical and translational research for disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, and HIV, and he develops open-source software (GAMMA suite, Advanced Connectivity Analysis) for neuroimaging data analysis.

Education:

• BS in Biomedical Engineering, Southeast University, China (1996)
• MS in Electrical Engineering, The Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (1999)
• PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Washington State University (2003)
• Postdoctoral Researcher in Radiology, University of Pennsylvania (2005)
• MTR in Translational Research, University of Pennsylvania (2012)

Research Interests:

• Computational modeling of neural activity and behavior
• Development of machine learning frameworks for neuroimaging
• Brain-inspired AI and therapeutic concepts
• Longitudinal analysis of brain disorders
• Distributed data mining for heterogeneous databases
• Software tools for biomarker detection and functional connectivity

Scientific Contributions:

• 20+ years of advanced modeling and algorithm development
• Two open-source neuroimaging software packages (GAMMA suite, ACA)
• NIH and BRAIN initiative-funded research
• Editorial roles in journals like Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience

Honors:

• Senior Member of IEEE

Labs & Collaborations: Dr. Chen collaborates with institutions like NIH and Oracle, and his lab has developed tools used in studies on sickle cell disease, autism, and traumatic brain injury.