Virtual reality (VR) uses advanced display and immersive audio technologies to create an interactive, three-dimensional image or environment. Augmented reality (AR) uses digital technology to overlay video and audio onto the physical world to provide information and embellish our experiences. This is the second in a series of articles showing how University researchers cross disciplines to collaborate on VR/AR innovations that will revolutionize how we learn, discover, heal, and create.

Imagine what it would be like to sit, not in the audience, but in the midst of an orchestra during a rehearsal or concert. To experience firsthand the sounds of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion sections washing over you from every direction. To see the conductor, not from behind, but pointing the baton directly at you.

Using recital halls as their “labs,” and recording some of the best music students in the world, University researchers are creating virtual reality videos of concerts that literally immerse viewers “within” the performance onstage.

“Instead of just watching a movie of the concert, you can put headphones on and walk around among the performers,” says Matthew Brown, a professor of music theory at the University’s Eastman School of Music, and one of the researchers on the project. “The more you get inside the performance, the more visceral and exciting the music becomes. This is very different from the normal video you see on YouTube.”

The quality of the sound, of course, is at least as important as the quality of the images. And that’s where this collaboration hopes to make a major contribution.

“Previous AR/VR research has focused mainly on the visual side,” says Zhiyao Duan, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, who is working on the project with Brown and Ming-Lun Lee, an assistant professor of audio and music engineering. “You see the 3-D, but you don’t really hear the audio change when you move your head or look at different objects. The purpose of this proposal is adding 3-D sound. That’s what’s novel here.”

Duan’s expertise is in designing intelligent algorithms and systems that can understand sounds (including music) and be applied, for example, to audio-visual analysis of music performances. Meanwhile, Lee, who has degrees in both electrical engineering and musicology, is an expert in audio software programming and sound recording techniques and technology. He is also an active choral director and baritone.

“That’s the strength of this project, because in addition to having access to Eastman and its students, we’ve got the expertise in electrical and computer engineering, and audio and music engineering,” says Brown. Also part of the team is Christopher Winders, who has a PhD in composition from Eastman and helped Brown pioneer TableTopOpera, a music ensemble that produces innovative multimedia performances, including “comic book operas.”

With funding from the University’s AR/VR Initiative, the team has obtained cutting-edge recording equipment, including an Eigenmike 32-channel spherical microphone array. Last semester, they made 11 recordings of Eastman ensembles in live concerts, as well as in rehearsals, where there is greater freedom to experiment.

Much of the effort so far has focused on perfecting what Lee refers to as the “workflow.” For example, “Where do we want to place a microphone? At the best seat in the concert hall? Or do you want to put it over the conductor’s head?” asks Lee. The answer may vary depending on the acoustics of the particular hall, and the size and type of ensemble.

Eventually Duan will develop algorithms to best integrate the audio and visual files.

The researchers envision a host of possible applications, from enhanced listener enjoyment to feedback for performers, live streaming of University concerts, and music therapy for patients.

“We read stories that classical music is losing its relevance,” Brown says. “This is a way to make the experience of classical music more exciting than just sitting and watching a bunch of people in penguin suits performing. The idea that you could interact with the environment, and move around in it, strikes me as being a really powerful way for us to make the music more relevant to younger audiences.”

Smartphone software and technology can accurately track the severity of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, according to findings in a study in JAMA Neurology that could provide researchers and clinicians with a new tool to both develop new drugs and better treat this challenging disease.

“This study demonstrates that we can create both an objective measure of the progression of Parkinson’s and one that provides a richer picture of the daily lived experience of the disease,” says URMC neurologist Ray Dorsey, a co-author of the study.

One of the difficulties in managing Parkinson’s is that symptoms of the disease can fluctuate widely on a daily basis. This makes the process of tracking the progression of the disease and adjusting treatment a challenge for physicians who may only get a snapshot of a patient’s condition once every several months when they visit the clinic. This variation also limits the insight that researchers can gather on the effectiveness of experimental treatments.

The new study, which was led by Suchi Saria, an assistant professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, harnesses the capabilities of technology that already resides in most of our pockets all day, every day.

Researchers recruited 129 individuals who remotely completed a series of tasks on a smartphone application that measures voice fluctuations, the speed of finger tapping, walking speed, and balance.

The researchers also conducted in-person visits with 50 individuals with Parkinson’s disease and controls in the clinic at URMC. Participants were asked to complete the tasks on the app and were also seen by a neurologist and scored using a standard clinical evaluation tool for the disease. This aspect of the study was overseen by URMC’s Center for Health + Technology. The researchers found that the measurements collected by the app corresponded with what was observed by the physicians in the clinic.

The smartphone data collected from the larger group of participants was then analyzed using a machine-learning algorithm, which the researchers used to generate a mobile Parkinson disease score (mPDS) that uses a scale of 1-100 – with a higher number indicating a greater severity of symptoms.

Near term uses of this technology will likely be in clinical trials, which would allow researchers to observe in real time the impact of new treatments. Ultimately, however, it could provide physicians and patients with a new tool to monitor the disease.

Read more here.

Each year, there are nearly 1.8 billion new cases worldwide of Early Childhood Caries (ECC), a rapid, aggressive, and painful disease affecting children younger than age 6, a majority of whom live in poverty.

Streptococcus mutans bacteria plays a vital role in this contagious disease, in which untreated cavities turn into painful infections, making it difficult to think, sleep, and eat.

But Jin Xiao, an Eastman Institute of Oral Health (EIOH) assistant professor, is looking at the problem from a different angle –  studying the association between yeast infections and early childhood caries with a $300,000, two-year grant from the National Institute for Dental Craniofacial Research and National Center for Advancing Translational Research.

“We need to find a way to better identify high risk children as well as find more effective preventive strategies,” says Xiao. “I’m studying to see if yeast, or C. albicans, may be the bigger, but easier to treat culprit.”

Recent studies show yeast is prevalent in the oral cavity in 80-90 percent of children with ECC, compared to 15-20 percent of caries-free children.

There are many kinds of yeasts, Xiao explained, noting that C. albicans is the most common strain that causes health problems.

Xiao will conduct a prospective cohort study, among 64 mother-infant dyads with socioeconomic disadvantages, to study the pathological role of C. albicans in the onset of severe ECC, and its maternal influence. She will further clarify the association between C. albicans and cariogenic bacteria and how they contribute to Severe ECC. Her study results will provide rationales of how and when to use antifungal treatment to prevent ECC.

“Our previous findings about the strong maternal influence on the presence of yeast in children’s mouths might open a new opportunity to prevent ECC during pregnancy,” Xiao said, “and could shift the current ECC preventive strategy to before birth.”

Read more here.

Kevin Meuwissen, associate professor and director of the social studies teacher preparation program at the Warner School, and Paul Fitchett, associate professor at UNC Charlotte, have co-edited a book that addresses important policy issues related to social studies education.

Social Studies in the New Education Policy Era: Conversations on Purposes, Perspectives, and Practices (Routledge, February 2018) illuminates a range of issues from curriculum standards and testing mandates to the appropriate roles of social studies educators as public policy advocates.

Each chapter features two authors responding to a common question, offering readers multiple arguments (and subsequently counterarguments) from which to delve into social studies education policy discussions that are both practical and academic. The commentaries aim to inspire, challenge, and ultimately strengthen readers’ understandings of the ways in which policy might affect social studies education in the present and future.

Read more here.

Ilan Goldenberg, an expert in sudden cardiac death, defibrillators, and the management of clinical trials, will serve as director of Clinical Cardiovascular Research at the Medical Center.

In this newly created position, Goldenberg will consolidate all clinical cardiology research into one team. He will also expand the clinical studies conducted at the Medical Center, building upon the work of internationally known cardiologist Arthur J. Moss, who made some of the most significant discoveries in the prevention and treatment of sudden cardiac death. Moss passed away in February.

Currently professor and director of the Cardiology Division at Tel Aviv University in Israel, Goldenberg worked with Moss and others between 2004 and 2011 when he was a full-time faculty member in the Division of Cardiology at URMC. He gained expertise in the use of defibrillators to prevent sudden death, and also gained insight into the successful operation of large scale clinical trials through his participation in the landmark Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial, which was run by Moss and a large team at URMC’s Heart Research Follow-up Program.

Read more here.

The University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute can help researchers boost the rigor and reproducibility of their data by developing quality systems to standardize research procedures and track training of key personnel.

Any research team can benefit, especially teams planning to submit data to the FDA for an investigational new drug application or trying to license a technology.

The UR Quality Systems team helps research groups develop quality systems that meet each team’s unique needs. Team leaders Joan Adamo and Sharyl Zaccaglino can help each group decide how much rigor they need to introduce into their work.

““Each quality system we help develop is right-sized for your team,” said Zaccaglino, director of Research Quality and Compliance at the Medical Center.

Adamo, director of Regulatory Support Services at the UR CTSI, recommends starting the process when you are writing a grant.

“In order to ensure maximum quality of your data, this needs to be a very forward-looking process,” said Adamo. “The quality system should be in place before you collect your data.”

To get started, researchers can consult Carrie Dykes, UR CTSI’s research engagement specialist. Dykes can help researchers understand NIH rigor and reproducibility policies – especially a new policy requiring authentication of key biological and chemical resources – and develop language for grant applications indicating how you will meet the guidelines.

Read more here.

University researchers can learn more about how to connect to BlueHive and explore new tools and applications in using it, at a Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC) workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 6 in the VISTA Collaboratory on the first floor of Carlson Library.

All workshop attendees should bring their own laptops and have a computing account on BlueHive.

Morning sessions are targeted for new and beginning users. Afternoon sessions will cover more in-depth topics and new tools and applications that are available for the research community.

The morning sessions include:

• Getting Connected (10 a.m.)
• Overview of BlueHive and CIRC Environment (10:30)
• Introduction to Linux (11 a.m.)

Afternoon sessions include:

• Slurm Resource Management and Running Jobs on BlueHive (12:30 p.m.)
• Modules and Software (1:30 p.m.)
• Introduction to Jupyter (2 p.m.)
• Introduction to Gitlab (2:30 p.m.)
• Remote Visualization (3 p.m.)
• Open Session for Q&A (3:30 p.m.)

There is no registration for the workshop. Just show up at the times for the sessions. Lunch will be served from noon to 12:30 p.m.

Michael Echter, Mechanical Engineering, “A Multifunctional Structures Approach for Deployable In-Space Optomechanics.” 9 a.m. March 30, 2018. Hopeman 224. Advisor: Jonathan Ellis.

Yang Zhao, Optics, “Low-Coherence Interferometer for Dimensional Metrology.” 1 p.m., March 30, 2018. Goergen 109. Advisor: Duncan Moore.

Chitraleema Chakraborty, Materials Science, “Flatland Nanophotonics: A Study of Quantum Confined Excitons in 2D Materials.” 1:30 p.m., March 30, 2018. Goergen 108. Advisor: Nick Vamivakas.

Mongkol Moongweluwan, Physics, “Measurements of the LUX Trigger Efficiency.” 9:30 a.m., April 2, 2018. Bausch and Lomb 372. Advisor: Frank Wolfs.

Daniel Lum, Physics, “Characterizing High-Dimensional Optical Systems with Applications in Compressive Sensing and Quantum Data Locking.” 3:30 p.m., April 2, 2018. Bausch and Lomb 109. Advisors: John Howell and Robert Boyd.

Hoda Sadat Ayatollahi Tabatabaei, Electrical Engineering, “Energy Balancing in Wireless Networks with MIMO Communications.” 3:30 p.m., April 3, 2018. Computer Studies Building 426. Advisor: Wendi Heinzelman.

Amanda Amori, Chemistry, “Photophysics of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and their Applications.”  9 a.m. April 6, 2018. Goergen 108. Advisor: Todd Krauss.

Shuhui Shi, Mathematics, “Multiple Zeta Values over $/Bbb{F}_q[t]$” 9 a.m. April 6, 2018. Hylan 1101. Advisor: Dinesh Thakur.

Jingyuan Zhang, Biology, “ERBB is a Novel Candidate for Driving Mammalian Cochlear Regeneration.” 1 p.m., April 2018. Computer Studies Building 209. Advisor: Patricia White.

Xuefei Zhang, Materials Science, “Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite Coatings for Biomedical and Catalytic Applications.” 2 p.m. April 6, 2018. 4506 Wegmans Hall. Advisor: Matthew Yates.

Today: Beyond the Article: Data and Code as Independent Scholarly Outputs. Presented by Lauren DiMonte, data and research impact librarian. Learn how to share data and code to meet publisher requirements, increase research impact, and open up your scholarship to new audiences. 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Gamble Room, 3rd floor, Rush Rhees Library. Lunch will be provided. Register here. Sponsored by the Leadership in Education Cluster of the University Committee for Interdisciplinary Studies.

Today: “Social Life of Guns,” research symposium. Panel presentations and discussions with invited scholars on what guns mean and how do they matter in the United States today. Humanities Center Conference Room D. Sponsored by the Humanities Center. Click here for the schedule.

Today: PONS Luncheon Roundtable Series: Acquired Hearing Difficulties and Deafness. Discussion of ongoing hearing loss research at the University of Rochester with panelists Ross Maddox and Patricia White of the Department of Neuroscience and U-Cheng Leong of the Department of Audiology. Noon. URMC Med Center Specialty Room 2-7520. Refreshments will be provided. For more information on upcoming Neuro-related events, go to http://blogs.rochester.edu/pons/.

April 2: Deadline to apply for UNYTE Translational Research Network Pipeline-to-Pilot Awards of up to $10,000 from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Intended to stimulate research partnerships between UNYTE member institutions to compete for future external translational biomedical research funding. Learn more about the UNYTE Translation Research Network; view the full RFA; contact Karen Vitale with questions.

April 6: CIRC Spring Workshop on using BlueHive, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. VISTA Collaboratory, first floor Carlson Library. All workshop attendees should bring their own laptops and have a computing account on BlueHive. Beginner sessions in morning (Getting Connected, Overview of BlueHive, Intro to Linux); more advanced sessions in afternoon (Slurm Resource Management, Modules and Software, Jupyter, Gitlab, Remote Visualization, and Q&A). No registration required.

April 6: “Translating Neuroscience: Obstacles and Opportunities.” Keynote address by Kafui Dzirasa, associate professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurosurgery at Duke University. Medical Scientist Research Symposium. 3:00-4:30 p.m. Class of ’62 Auditorium. Jointly sponsored by the Medical Scientist Training Program and the Dr. Thomas A. and Joyce E. Pearson Endowed Lectureship fund. More information here.

April 9: Deadline to submit proposals for three Center for AIDS Research pilot grants. See the CFAR Pilot Funding Opportunities page and the specific RFA’s for additional information.  Contact the CFAR administrator (Laura_Enders@urmc.rochester.edu) for additional information on eligibility, budgeting guidelines, and required cost sharing forms no later than March 23.

April 12: “Forgetting Fear,” presented by Daniela Schiller, professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Humanities Center Public Lecture Series. 5 to 6 p.m., Hawkins Carlson Room, Rush Rhees Library. Read more here.

April 12: “The American Health Paradox: What’s Missing?” Presented by Nancy Bennett, professor of medicine and public health sciences, director of the Center for Community Health, and co-director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Phelps Colloquium Series. 4-5:30 p.m., Helen Wood Hall. Click here to register.

April 16: Deadline to apply for Community-Based Participatory Research Pipeline-to-Pilot grant of up to $15,000 from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. For academic and community partners currently completing the CTSI’s Introduction to Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) program, or who have demonstrated experience in CBPR. For more details, see the  RFA. Contact Indrani Singh with questions.

April 18: SBIR/STTR Symposium – Succeeding at SBIR/STTR Grants.  Hosted by NextCorp. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 260 East Main Street, Suite 6000.  In depth session on writing successful proposals, understanding key agencies and seed funding for Phase 0 –  customer discovery & proposal development.  For details and to register go to https://nextcorps.org/event/succeeding-at-sbir-sttr-grants/

April 20-21: UpStat 2018: Better Living Through Statistics conference. A friendly and empowering annual gathering of statisticians, applied mathematicians, computer scientists, engineers, and data scientists from upstate New York and its neighboring regions. We are interested in contributions to statistical methodology as well as to statistical practice, consulting, and education. Read more.

April 28: All In: When Theory Meets Practice in Education Reform. Symposium sponsored by the Warner School Center for Urban Education Success (CUES). 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., East High School. Free and open to the public. Read more here.

April 30: “Zionism: Conflicting Dreams.” Public lecture by Israeli author Amos Oz, the inaugural Farash Fellow for the Advancement of Jewish Humanities and Culture. 5 p.m., Hawkins Carlson Room at Rush Rhees Library. The lecture will be followed by a reception in the Humanities Center. Presented by the Farash Foundation, the Humanities Center, and the Center for Jewish Studies. For more information, contact Jennie Gilardoni.

May 15: Respiratory Pathogens Research Center Scientific Symposium. Featured speakers, lectures by RPRC investigators, poster session. Lunch and refreshments provided. 7:45 a.m. to 6:30 pm., Saunders Research Building. Registration is free, but pre-registration is required by April 27 at RPRCSymposium.urmc.edu

May 17: “Ever Better Teams: A CTSI Team Science Summit.” Interactive symposium featuring keynote presentation by Gaetano “Guy” Lotrecchiano, an associate professor of clinical research and leadership at The George Washington University, and breakout sessions for networking and dialogue on the future of team science at URMC. 1 to 5 p.m. Hosted by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Contact Oksana Babiy with any questions.