Priority research areas
Research conducted at Dell Medical School uncovers new knowledge that shapes scalable, innovative solutions for the urgent and complex challenges in medicine.
To maximize scientific discovery, drive commercialization and enhance clinical and translational outcomes, the medical school emphasizes research in four priority areas that foster cross-disciplinary science and align with faculty expertise and the University’s research
Novel therapies and diagnostics
Dell Med researchers advance new ways to detect disease and develop safer, more precise treatments.
From biomarkers that help identify disease earlier to biologics that target infectious threats and nuclear medicine that reveals what cannot be seen with conventional tools, researchers move beyond one-size-fits-all medicine to improve outcomes for patients.
Ongoing efforts study how diseases form and behave with the central goal of translating insights into high-impact clinical treatments.
Through Texas Biologics, Dell Med researchers partner with scientists around the University to develop and successfully translate new therapeutics such as vaccines, enzymes, antibodies and peptides. UT’s therapeutics research has created enzymes for cancer therapy; played a leading role in developing the COVID-19 vaccine; designed antibodies that block cytomegalovirus and target whooping cough; and created vaccines for RSV.
In the global effort to eliminate cancer, Dell Med researchers are uniting with experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to break new ground in cancer care and research, including personalized robotic surgery for orthopedic tumors and artificial intelligence-assisted precision therapies. UT researchers are also working across disciplines to prevent and detect colorectal cancer with AI.
To better predict liver fibrosis, a disease that can lead to irreversible liver failure, a Dell Med trainee created a large language model that uses routine lab tests and health records to assess a patient’s risk in developing the disease.
Dell Med researchers are part of an international collaboration studying quantum sensing technologies that have great potential to improve diagnostics and prevention of diseases.
Computational health and medicine
Dell Med researchers harness artificial intelligence and machine learning to study health data and improve care for people with chronic and complex conditions.
Through approaches such as digital twins and large-scale data analysis, physicians and scientists shape personalized treatments based on patients’ histories and risk factors while helping reduce unnecessary procedures.
Applied together, data, AI and computational science are changing how diseases are understood, diagnosed and treated, at both the patient and population level.
Research collaborations between Dell Med, UT Austin’s Oden Institute and UT MD Anderson are driving new clinical advancements in cancer care through high-performance computing: Researchers are building the most accurate computer model of the breast to predict how patients will respond to treatment before it beings; using algorithms to create personalized molds for breast reconstruction; and manipulating enzymes to overwhelm cancer cells’ errant behavior.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, a Dell Med-Oden Institute research group is using data from the NICU to predict short-term emergencies in preterm infants and better understand associated neurological conditions the develop later in life.
Using local patient data and machine learning, Dell Med researchers work with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services to predict optimal transport and delivery for a person having a stroke anywhere in Travis County.
Dell Med and the Oden Institute partnered to launch the joint Center for Computational Medicine, which will reach beyond Austin as a global resource for the creation of digital twins. Experts across medicine, engineering, biology, mathematics and computational science work together to advance personalized healthcare.
Digital medicine
Dell Med researchers leverage the growing capabilities of robotics and digital technologies to reimagine how care is delivered and experienced.
Between robotic-assisted procedures and wearable biosensors that enable remote monitoring, experts work to make health care more efficient, accessible and precise.
Close collaborations with faculty in the Cockrell School of Engineering apply discoveries made the lab and clinic and translate them into innovative digital solutions that improve outcomes for all.
Using commonly available wearable sensors, Dell Med researchers are studying how to prevent delirium — a precursor to dementia — by analyzing patient data with machine learning to determine who is at risk for longer-term cognitive disfunction.
A team of UT researchers developed a soft, noninvasive wearable patch that has shown to increase REM sleep and has broad potential to help people cope with stress and improve overall well-being through restorative sleep.
By adapting standard camera hardware, UT researchers developed a new way to monitor blood flow, which can enhance the quality of neurosurgery and cardiac surgery as well as guide treatment decisions in stroke care.
Clinical, community and outcomes research
By partnering with patients, clinicians and community organizations, Dell Med researchers evaluate treatments, care models and interventions in real-world settings. This research helps ensure that advances in medicine and care delivery benefit all populations and communities.
To bridge research and patient care, and improve how science is conducted, researchers work to seamlessly shuttle new knowledge and discoveries from the lab to the clinic to the community and back again to academia.
Interdisciplinary research between medicine and social work resulted in a digital platform that provides a robust picture of the opioid crisis in Texas. Community-engaged research partnerships with local nonprofits continue to provide crucial data that guides future interventions and statewide policies.
Funded by the Department of Defense, Dell Med researchers are conducting a clinical trial studying a fast-acting, drug-free brain stimulation therapy that can safely relieve the symptoms of postpartum depression.
In a clinical trial that provided meals to local Austin mothers, Dell Med researchers found that small shifts in a breastfeeding family’s diet can quickly alter the types of fats infants receive in breast milk, which could have implications for brain development and immune function.
Partnering with a local Federally Qualified Health Center, a Dell Med lung cancer screening initiative used bilingual support, mailed outreach and no-cost screenings to promote prevention and ease screening barriers for low-income, uninsured and at-risk populations in Central Texas.