ABOUT US

iCONNECT was developed through funding provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) Grant (DGE 1922598) and awarded to the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions (CASBBI) at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. CASBBI brings together scientists, engineers, health care professionals, and community stakeholders to research and create translational innovations aimed at challenges related to disability. It is led by Drs. Siddhartha Sikdar, Jim Thompson, and Lynn Gerber.

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CASBBI’s NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is training the next generation of leaders to take on some of the most challenging problems faced by society today.

 

CASBBI NRT trainees are tackling the opioid use epidemic, mental and behavioral health disorders and enabling individuals with disabilities to participate fully in needed and desired life roles and activities.

 

These complex problems cannot be addressed by one individual or even one discipline. The next generation of leaders charged with addressing these challenges must work together across traditional academic disciplinary boundaries to integrate engineering, data science and social science knowledge, while meaningfully engaging with stakeholder communities in a mutually beneficial manner.

 

The CASBBI NRT program is designed to cross-train graduate students from engineering, data science, and social science disciplines to:

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1. Define a problem from multiple perspectives based on disciplinary knowledge, lived experiences, and community knowledge

2. Utilize design thinking principles to break down open-ended problems

3. Develop creative solutions by adapting and applying theories and methodologies from different disciplines

4. Communicate effectively with stakeholders and broad audiences

5. Work productively on diverse multidisciplinary teams

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For more information about this NRT Program and all of the amazing work that CASBBI is doing, please visit their website here: https://casbbi.gmu.edu/