Laura Connolly and Amama Mahmood have been named recipients of this year’s Malone Postdoctoral Fellowship. The program provides postdoctoral researchers with resources to support clinically facing research, faculty mentorship and collaboration, and the opportunity to play a role in the Malone Center’s research mission.
Connolly’s research is focused on the intersection of robotics, AI, and imaging for cancer detection in soft-tissue surgery. More specifically, she has worked on open-source software that supports image-guided robotics research, the integration of haptics and cooperative robotics for tumor localization, and AI-assisted cancer detection.
“Laura’s technical expertise in open-source software development, haptic interfaces, and AI for medical imaging—combined with her proven track record of collaboration and leadership—make her ideal for advancing the core mission of the Malone Center, bringing together physicians and engineers to solve critical health care challenges,” says Connolly’s co-advisor Axel Krieger, an associate professor of mechanical engineering.
Joined by co-advisor John C. Malone Professor of Computer Science Russell H. Taylor and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Brady Urological Institute, Connolly will work with an interdisciplinary team of surgeons, medical roboticists, and imaging experts to advance image-guided partial nephrectomy techniques. She will develop novel computational methods for preoperative planning, intraoperative guidance, and real-time feedback during kidney-sparing tumor resection with the goals of improving surgical precision while preserving maximum kidney function and ultimately translating these technologies to clinical practice.
“Having spent time at Hopkins as a visiting graduate scholar, I’m looking forward to working again at the heart of innovation and cutting-edge research in the Malone Center,” Connolly says.
Graduating from the Department of Computer Science’s PhD program in August, Mahmood focuses on designing inclusive conversational agents to empower people and promote their well-being. To this end, she designs, develops, and evaluates agents that are reliable and robust to conversational breakdowns; tailored to individuals’ needs, contexts, and preferences; and ethically designed to avoid social biases.
“Amama is bright and creative and has the drive to bring the translational impact of human-computer interaction to the health care domain,” says Chien-Ming Huang, a John C. Malone Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Mahmood’s co-advisor.
“Her ability to integrate cutting-edge AI techniques with human-centered design principles exemplifies her potential to lead transformative research,” adds Paul Yi, an adjunct research scientist in the Malone Center, the director of intelligent imaging informatics at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and one of Mahmood’s other advisors.
As a postdoctoral fellow, Mahmood will cultivate close collaborations with colleagues in various fields of computer science and engineering, while also providing opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations with experts in health sciences, cognitive science, and psychology.
“I am excited to advance my goal of designing more usable, adaptable, and socially intelligent conversational agents that promote well-being across diverse age groups, abilities, and communities,” Mahmood says. “Ultimately, I aim to build technologies that not only understand people—but genuinely support them in leading healthier, more empowered lives.”
Connolly and Mahmood begin their fellowships this summer. To learn more about the Malone Postdoctoral Fellows Program, click here.
Image Caption: Laura Connolly and Amama Mahmood