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Mutations of the spike gene do not predict the severity of variants of SARS-CoV-2
New research from UNC Charlotte’s Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER) has found that the two recent and prevalent strains of the virus that cause COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.1, are not significantly better than their predecessor Omicron at evading immune responses and causing infections despite having a high number of […]
Synergizing AI and HPC for Pandemic Preparedness with Genomics and Clinical Risk Assessment
Last week at the PASC24 conference at ETH Zurich, we organized a minisymposium to explore how AI and HPC can enhance pandemic preparedness through genomics and clinical risk assessment. To tackle emerging virus variants, we need a comprehensive approach, integrating next-gen vaccine development with personalized disease stratification and treatments. Experts like Prof. Dr. Alexander, EMBA […]

Rachel Showers awarded the Derrick Griffith Servant Leader Award!
Good news from the Reitzel lab. Undergraduate researcher and Honors student Rachel Showers was awarded the Derrick Griffith Servant Leader Award this year! This award is awarded to one student per year and Rachel was selected. Rachel has been an incredible student researcher with us for about 2 years and engaged member of our university community.

SHIRISH YASA: USING ADVANCED COMPUTING TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO CANCER
When Shirish Yasa was a 10 year-old kid attending educational summer camps at UNC Charlotte, he walked through the beautiful campus each day dreaming about what it’d be like to be a student at his hometown university. Read the full story

Rick White awarded CCI 2024 Student-Faculty Research Award
The College of Computing and Informatics selected Dr. Richard Allen White as the well deserved recipient of the 2024 Essam El-Kwae Student-Faculty Research Award. Dr. White, alongside students Madeline Bellanger and Jose Figueroa, has made contributions in the scientific community with the submission of seven papers within a span of 10 months. Five of these […]

Congratulations! Alfred Hubbard
🎉👨🎓 Congratulations, Dr. Alfred Hubbard! 👨🔬🌟 On May 21, 2024, Alfred Hubbard successfully defended his doctoral thesis, titled: “Genomic Epidemiology for Malaria: Novel Application of Geospatial Methods, New Genomic Markers, and Population-level Insights.” Alfred’s dedication, passion, and hard work have culminated in this remarkable achievement. His groundbreaking research represents a significant leap forward in our […]

RESEARCH AND MENTORING EXCELLENCE Awards.
CIPHER co-director Adam Reitzel and CIPHER member Juan Vivero-Escoto are the 2024 recipients of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal and the Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award ! “Our faculty have led our ascent to top-tier research status, helping us serve our region and provide a top-quality education for Charlotte students,” said Chancellor Sharon L. […]
Researchers in CIPHER and MIT Lincoln Laboratory Achieve High Scalability in the Molecular Modeling of SARS-CoV-2
In a publication released this week, Dr. Colby T. Ford of the UNC Charlotte CIPHER Center and researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory showcased immense scalability in modeling the interaction of human cytokines against coronavirus nucleocapsid proteins using high-performance computing. Background Cytokines are small proteins that are responsible for modulating immune responses in the body, responding […]

NASA-FUNDED CCI RESEARCH QUANTIFIES WEIGHT OF ALL VIRUSES IN THE GREAT SALT LAKE
In a recent study written by Madeline Bellanger and Dr. Richard Allen White III, published in the American Society for Microbiology’s Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal, the two scholars along with Dr. Pieter Visscher of the University of Connecticut demonstrated a new way to measure the levels of viruses in two major lakes in the […]

Adam Reitzel PH.D.
CIPHER Co-Director, Dr. Adam Reitzel was honored with several awards this year. He was named Faculty Fellow of Grant Writing in the UNC Charlotte Graduate and Postdoctoral Writing Center. As a Faculty Fellow, Reitzel will bring his exceptional scholarly writing experience to aid the development of grant writing talent among postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. He also […]