Lawrence Hall, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Professor Hall is a leading pioneer in the field of image analysis through machine learning, especially in medical applications. His seminal work significantly advanced the diagnosis and treatment of lung and brain tumors.
In 2013, he helped develop a revolutionary new method to more accurately and efficiently obtain boundaries of lung nodules that is reproducible and significantly reduces human error, which is crucial for optimal radiation oncology. He was also among the earliest researchers to explore the application of complex algorithms and pattern recognition methods to MRI data in the early 1990s, with emphasis on segmenting regions of brain tumors, which has contributed to improved diagnostic capabilities for tumors over the previously visual interpretations. In 1998, he helped develop a system that automatically segments and labels glioblastoma-multiforme tumors—the most common brain tumor in adults—in MRI scans. In 2017, he proposed a new method to improve the accuracy of the PAP test in diagnosing cervical cancer, which has outperformed other state-of-the-art methods. Additionally, he developed a new method to identify the subregions of malignant glioblastoma tumors in MRI scans and to quantify their characteristics to help predict survival time.
He has authored over 250 publications, with 18,899 citations and an h-index of 50. He is a Fellow of AAAS, IEEE, and IAPR. He holds a PhD in computer science from Florida State University, an M.S. in mathematics from Florida State University, and a bachelor of science from Florida Institute of Technology.
The full article featuring the three USF faculty members elected as AIMBE Fellows can be found here.