"Untangling the Web" Episode 27: Deborah McGuinness on Using Web Science to Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy

Posted November 4, 2021

Link to podcast

Our guest for this episode is Deborah McGuinness, Professor of Computer, Cognitive, and Web Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Deborah specializes in creating ontology-enabled research infrastructure for work in interdisciplinary settings. 

Temporal Analysis of Social Determinants Associated with COVID-19 Mortality

This study examines how social determinants associated with COVID-19 mortality change over time. Using US county-level data from July 5 and December 28, 2020, the effect of 19 high-risk factors on COVID-19 mortality rate was quantified at each time point with negative binomial mixed models. Then, these high-risk factors were used as controls in two association studies between 40 social determinants and COVID-19 mortality rates using data from the same time points. The results indicate that counties with certain ethnic minorities and age groups, immigrants, prevalence of diseases like pediatric asthma and diabetes and cardiovascular disease, socioeconomic inequalities, and higher social association are associated with increased COVID-19 mortality rates.

RPIrates Special Edition: Introducing the RPI StudySafe App

Using near-real-time, anonymous WiFi data from more than 1300 wireless access points on campus, students working with the Rensselaer IDEA's Data INCITE program during the Summer and Fall 2020 terms created an app to help students easily identify crowded and open spots around campus.

SCIENCE with Blockchain

This is a research project to develop a trustworthy, accountable, data sharing eco-system for biomedical research that utilizes knowledge representation and blockchain technologies to address the challenge of the costly and time-consuming effort needed to bring a biomedical innovation from the bench (basic research) to bedside (clinical level).