Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, FAHA
Associate Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Computational Biomedicine

BS, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
PhD, University of Southampton, UK



Our mission is to create methods to fit the science and not make science fit the methods.

Specifically, we are interested in the following questions that have clinical relevance:
Neurodegeneration – How can we develop software frameworks that can assist dementia screening in various settings?
Digital pathology – How can we build clinical-grade software tools to complement the pathologist workflow?

We are also interested in the following frameworks that have computational relevance:
Domain generalization – Development of deep neural networks that can generalize well across multiple data cohorts
Representation learning – Construction of efficient neural models on high resolution data to process local and contextual information

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

We value the importance of creating a diverse and equitable environment and take pride in maintaining a laboratory that has an equal number of trainees from both genders. The trainees are medical school students, graduate students from computer sciences, arts and engineering, undergraduate students, medical residents, and clinical fellows. Over 50 trainees have already been co-authors of journal papers and graduates from our laboratory are pursuing higher education, and accepted faculty appointments in research-intensive universities, as well as computer vision and machine learning intern and scientist roles in companies such as Microsoft and Bose.

We thrive on collaborative ideas and openly invite other faculty members to our group for discussions and forge new partnerships. For each project, we have a multidisciplinary team that brings together the needed perspectives to innovate and translate a computational framework to solve a clinically relevant problem. Our laboratory meetings are focused on mathematical concepts, coding hacks and algorithms, deeper dive on the clinical questions and overall translation of our findings.

Below are some specific contributions that reflect our DEIA initiatives:
2018 --- Faculty development and diversity committee, Boston University School of Medicine
2019-21 --- Mentor for Supporting Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program (Grant# 55205494), American Heart Association; The focus of this program is to support undergraduate students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions
2017-present --- Mentor of the following scholars.
• Shinobu Matsuura, PhD: K01 Grant Awardee (K01-OD025290), Project Title: The bone marrow extracellular matrix: scaffold of hematopoiesis
• Kathy Bacon, PhD: Rheumatology Research Foundation Career Development Awardee, Project Title: Machine learning analysis of longitudinal gait data in osteoarthritis
• Ileana De Anda-Duran, MD, MPH: AHA Postdoctoral Fellow (20SFRN35460031), Project Title: Integrated Digital Technology Platform for Optimization of Precision Brain Health
• Phillip Hwang, PhD: AHA Postdoctoral Fellow (20SFRN35460031), Project Title: Integrated Digital Technology Platform for Optimization of Precision Brain Health
• Huitong Ding, PhD: AHA Postdoctoral Fellow (20SFRN35460031), Project Title: Integrated Digital Technology Platform for Optimization of Precision Brain Health
• Kerry Costello, PhD: F32 Grant Awardee (F32-AR076907), Project Title: Machine learning for analysis of walking patterns and physical activity in knee osteoarthritis
• Claire Cordella, PhD: F32 Grant Awardee (F32-DC020342), Project Title: Detecting and classifying non-fluent speech in aphasia using machine learning

Finally, we want to disseminate the value of data science education more broadly in the public domain. We have written articles about the value of machine learning education in medical (NPJ Digit Med. 2018 Sep 27;1:54. PMID: 31304333) as well as undergraduate (Artif Intell Med. 2022 Jul;129:102313. PMID: 35659392) institutions, and gave seminars to the scientific community on this topic. As a result, the curriculum that we designed for a graduate course in machine learning (MS650) is now being adapted by several researchers.

Member
Boston University
Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute


Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research


Assistant Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Computing & Data Sciences Administration




Mechanisms of drug-coated balloon therapy
09/01/2021 - 08/31/2025 (PI)
NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
5R01HL159620-02

Integrated Digital Technology Platform for Optimization of Precision Brain Health
07/01/2020 - 06/30/2024 (Multi-PI)
PI: Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, FAHA
American Heart Association


Smartphone image analysis for real time adequacy assessment during kidney biopsy
09/15/2022 - 08/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Arkana Laboratories NIH NIDDK
1R43DK134273-01

PRISTINE: Pre-cancer histology identification of Endobronchial biopsies using deep learning
09/01/2020 - 08/31/2023 (Multi-PI)
PI: Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, FAHA
NIH/National Cancer Institute
1R21CA253498-01

Using deep learning to advance lung cancer interception and early detection
01/01/2022 - 06/30/2023 (Multi-PI)
PI: Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, FAHA
Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation, Inc.


Cognitive heterogeneity in those with high Alzheimer's Disease Risk
05/01/2020 - 04/30/2023 (Multi-PI)
PI: Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, FAHA
NIH/National Institute on Aging
1RF1AG062109-01A1

Predicting gene expression from pathology images in diabetic kidney disease
07/01/2021 - 12/31/2022 (Subcontract PI)
Augusta University NIH NIDDK
5U24DK115255-04

Biomarkers of lung squamous premalignant progression using deep learning on pathology images
06/01/2020 - 12/31/2021 (Multi-PI)
PI: Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, FAHA
Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation, Inc.


Mechanisms of drug-coated balloon therapy
07/01/2017 - 06/30/2021 (PI)
American Heart Association


Novel antibody design using deep learning
01/01/2018 - 12/31/2019 (PI)
Visterra, Inc.




Title

Predicting gene expression from pathology images in diabetic kidney disease
07/01/2021 - 06/30/2022 (PI)
NIDDK - DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS CONSORTIUM (DiaComp)

Toffler Scholar in Neuroscience
01/01/2021 - 12/31/2021 (PI)
The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. De Anda-Duran I, Kolachalama VB, Carmichael OT, Hwang PH, Fernandez C, Au R, Bazzano LA, Libon DJ. Midlife Neuropsychological Profiles and Associated Vascular Risk: The Bogalusa Heart Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2023 May 19.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37212094
     
  2. Tseng AE, Carossino M, Gertje HP, O'Connell AK, Gummuluru S, Kolachalama VB, Balasuriya UBR, Connor JH, Bennett RS, Liu DX, Hensley LE, Crossland NA. Hepatic proinflammatory myeloid phenotypes are a hallmark of Ebola virus Kikwit pathogenesis in rhesus monkeys. Vet Pathol. 2023 May 12; 3009858231171906.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37170900
     
  3. Costello KE, Felson DT, Jafarzadeh SR, Guermazi A, Roemer FW, Segal NA, Lewis CE, Nevitt MC, Lewis CL, Kolachalama VB, Kumar D. Gait, physical activity and tibiofemoral cartilage damage: a longitudinal machine learning analysis in the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study. Br J Sports Med. 2023 Mar 03.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36868795; DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-106142;
     
  4. Zhang M, Lotfollahzadeh S, Elzinad N, Yang X, Elsadawi M, Gower A, Belghasem M, Shazly T, Kolachalama VB, Chitalia V. Alleviating iatrogenic effects of paclitaxel via anti-inflammatory treatment. Res Sq. 2023 Jan 30.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36778300; PMCID: PMC9915804; DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2487922/v1;
     
  5. Bacon KL, Felson DT, Jafarzadeh SR, Kolachalama VB, Hausdorff JM, Gazit E, Segal NA, Lewis CE, Nevitt MC, Kumar D. Relation of gait measures with mild unilateral knee pain during walking using machine learning. Sci Rep. 2022 Dec 23; 12(1):22200.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36564397; PMCID: PMC9789148; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21142-2;
     
  6. Zheng Y, Gindra RH, Green EJ, Burks EJ, Betke M, Beane JE, Kolachalama VB. A Graph-Transformer for Whole Slide Image Classification. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2022 Nov; 41(11):3003-3015.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35594209; PMCID: PMC9670036; DOI: 10.1109/TMI.2022.3176598;
     
  7. Shazly T, Torres WM, Secemsky EA, Chitalia VC, Jaffer FA, Kolachalama VB. Understudied factors in drug-coated balloon design and evaluation: A biophysical perspective. Bioeng Transl Med. 2023 Jan; 8(1):e10370.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36684110; PMCID: PMC9842065; DOI: 10.1002/btm2.10370;
     
  8. Amini S, Hao B, Zhang L, Song M, Gupta A, Karjadi C, Kolachalama VB, Au R, Paschalidis IC. Automated detection of mild cognitive impairment and dementia from voice recordings: A natural language processing approach. Alzheimers Dement. 2022 Jul 07.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35796399; PMCID: PMC10148688; DOI: 10.1002/alz.12721;
     
  9. Griffith KN, Schwartzman DA, Pizer SD, Bor J, Kolachalama VB, Jack B, Garrido MM. Local Supply Of Postdischarge Care Options Tied To Hospital Readmission Rates. Health Aff (Millwood). 2022 Jul; 41(7):1036-1044.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35787076; PMCID: PMC9342702; DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01991;
     
  10. Qiu S, Miller MI, Joshi PS, Lee JC, Xue C, Ni Y, Wang Y, De Anda-Duran I, Hwang PH, Cramer JA, Dwyer BC, Hao H, Kaku MC, Kedar S, Lee PH, Mian AZ, Murman DL, O'Shea S, Paul AB, Saint-Hilaire MH, Alton Sartor E, Saxena AR, Shih LC, Small JE, Smith MJ, Swaminathan A, Takahashi CE, Taraschenko O, You H, Yuan J, Zhou Y, Zhu S, Alosco ML, Mez J, Stein TD, Poston KL, Au R, Kolachalama VB. Multimodal deep learning for Alzheimer's disease dementia assessment. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 20; 13(1):3404.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35725739; PMCID: PMC9209452; DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31037-5;
     
Showing 10 of 67 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 67 publications over 16 distinct years, with a maximum of 10 publications in 2019 and 2022

YearPublications
20072
20082
20092
20112
20123
20132
20142
20152
20164
20172
20186
201910
20205
20219
202210
20234


Best of The Brink 2022: BU’s Most-Read Science and Research Stories

BU Today 12/13/2022

Alzheimer's-Diagnosing AI Better Than Medical Experts? New Study Shows It Can Solve Physician Shortage

Tech Times 8/3/2022

Two Technologies That Can Make Diagnosing Dementia Easier for Doctors and Patients

Mirage News 6/25/2022

AI may detect dementia just as well as doctors: study

The Hill 6/21/2022

Artificial intelligence may diagnose dementia as accurately as clinicians

United Press International 6/20/2022

Researchers develop novel AI algorithm for digital pathology analysis

Longevity Technology 5/26/2022

Researchers Create New AI-Based Techniques for Analyzing Digital Pathology Data

AzoRobotics 5/24/2022

Novel AI algorithm developed for assessing digital pathology data

News Medical 5/23/2022

Artificial intelligence aids nephrologists in directing kidney care

Healio 6/10/2021

New Measure to Determine Severity of Knee Osteoarthritis with AI

AZO Robotics 5/13/2021

Artificial Intelligence Boosts Alzheimer’s Disease Classification

healthitanalytics 3/16/2021

AI enhances brain MRI scans to better classify Alzheimer’s disease

Health Imaging 3/15/2021

AI Approach Helps Classify Alzheimer’s Disease with Improved Accuracy

AZO Robotics 3/10/2021

Biogen’s New Alzheimer’s Drug Is “Hugely Important,” “One of the Biggest Moments” in 20 Years

The Brink 11/6/2020

New AI Algorithm Identifies Alzheimer’s Disease, Predicts Risk For Disease

Study Finds 5/19/2020

Algoritm Beats Experts In Alzheimer's Diagnosis

Futurity 5/7/2020

Deep Learning AI Accurately Predicts and Diagnoses Alzheimer’s Disease

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News 5/5/2020

Know What’s Good for your Health? Artificial Intelligence

BU Today 5/29/2019

Could Better Materials Lead to Better Outcomes with DCBs?

Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry 5/3/2019

Multimodal fusion model can better predict cognitive impairment

News Medical Life Sciences 10/4/2018

2022 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: Senior Member
2021 Karen Toffler Charitable Trust: Toffler Scholar in Neuroscience
2021 Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine: Evans Junior Faculty Merit Award
2020 Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, Boston University: Founding Member
2020 Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine: Outstanding Research Collaborator
2019 Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy, Boston University: Institute Fellow
2019 American Heart Association: Fellow
2018 Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering, Boston University: Junior Faculty Fellow
2008 United States Food and Drug Administration: ORISE Fellowship
2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Young Researcher Fellowship

Available to Mentor as: (Review Mentor Role Definitions):
  • Advisor
  • Career Mentor
  • Co-Mentor or Peer Mentor
  • Diversity Mentor
  • Education Mentor
  • Project Mentor
  • Research / Scholarly Mentor
  • Work / Life Integration Mentor
Contact for Mentoring:

72 East Concord Street, Evans 636
Boston MA 02118
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