AI Research
at UH
Discover our cutting-edge research initiatives that are pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence across multiple disciplines and applications.
Major Research Initiatives
Analysis Capabilities for Competition, Crisis, and Conflict (AC4)
Principal Investigator: Craig Glennie, $63.5M - U.S. Army
AI-FEED: Connecting Food Charities to End Hunger
Principal Investigator: Ioannis Kakadiaris
Examining Human Trust in AI-Generated Intelligence Analysis
Principal Investigator: Zachary Zwald, $1.6M - U.S. Army DEVCOM DAC
Community Responsive Algorithms for Social Accountability
Co-Investigator: Lydia Tiede, $749,857 - National Science Foundation
AI-Doctor Collaborative Medical Image Diagnosis
Principal Investigator: Zhigang Deng, A computational framework for AI to collaborate with human radiologists on medical diagnosis tasks
Research by Domain
Healthcare & Medical AI
AI for Lupus Nephritis Diagnosis
Principal Investigators: Chandra Mohan, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed
Engineering & Infrastructure
Computer Science
Machine Learning for Cyberattack Prediction
Investigators: Rakesh Verma, Gopal Pandurangan
Mathematics
College of Optometry
Establishment of Health Data Landing Zone for Clinical Informatics and AI Research
Investigators: Michael Twa, Rene Enriquez
Funding: College IDC
SmartPrep: AI-Driven Tools for Optometry Board Exam Success
Investigators: Lan Chi Nguyen, Kimberly Lambreghts, and Anita Ticak
Funding: Provost AI Pilot Grant
Large-Scale Classification of Retinal Synapses
Investigators: Luca Della Santina, PhD, PharmD
Funding: UHCO Research excellence, and NIH/NEI U24 (in collaboration with Indiana
University, UCSF, and OHSU)
Automatic Identification of Ocular Diseases from Face Photographs
Investigators: Luca Della Santina, PhD, PharmD
Funding: UHCO Research excellence (Eyemeter), and NIH/NEI R21 EY032567 (TrachomaFinder)
Evaluating ChatGPT-4 for Diagnosing Visual Disorders in Primary Eye Care
Investigators: Tarsis Gesteira Ferreira, PhD
Funding source: NIH/NEI T35EY007088
(DRUG Development) Use of AI-Based Protein Design
Investigators: Nimesh B Patel, OD, PhD
Funding source: NIH/NEI EY 036014
Deep Learning Method: Segmentation of OCT Images of Retinal Layers & of Major Vasculature
Investigators: Kaitlyn Sapoznik, OD, PhD
Funding source: NIH/NEI EY033743 and EY029229
Development of Deep Learning Based Methods for Segmenting Retinal Vasculature in Adaptive Optics Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) Images
Investigators: Diane Sayah OD, PhD
Funding source: NIH Consortium for Translational & Precision Health (CTPH) K12 (Baylor/UH)
Neural Network Approach to Segmentation of Vascular Choroid of the Eye
Investigators: Diane Sayah OD, PhD
Funding Source: UH start-up, and American Academy of Optometry
Research Centers and Institutes
Bauer College of Business
Department of Computer Science
Artificial Intelligence and Computational & Data Sciences >>>
UH Law Center
Publications
Artificial Intelligence, Legal Change, and Separation of Power
88 CINN. L. REV. 1083 (2020)
Andrew C. Michael
Self-Interest and Preferences for the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence
Journal of Information Technology & Politics 22(3), 2025
Tobias Heinrich and Christopher Witko.
Effective Implementation of Predictive Sales Analytics
Journal of Marketing Research, 61 (4), 718-741.
Habel, Johannes, Sascha Alavi, and Nicolas Heinitz (2024)
Exploring Traffic Simulation and Cybersecurity Strategies Using LLMs
In 2025 IEEE Security and Privacy Workshops (SPW) (pp. 346-351). IEEE.
Gao, L., Liu, Y., Chen, H., Liu, D., Zhang, Y., & Sun, J. (2025)
Between Code and Culture: The Evolving Role of Conversation Designers and UX in AI Development
Science, Technology, & Human Values (2025)
Elizabeth Rodwell
Media Frames, AI Romantic Relationships, and the Perspectives of People in Relationships; Mapping and Comparing News Media Themes with User Perspectives
Information, Communication, & Society (2024)
Liao, Tony, Elizabeth Rodwell, and Debriunna Porter
Hyped but Invisible: Good UX and Good Gender Practices in and out of the Conversal AI Sandbox
Practicing Anthropology (2024)
Elizabeth Rodwell
Implications of bias in automated writing quality scores for fair and equitable assessment decisions
School Psychology (2023)
Matta, M., Mercer, S. H., & Keller-Margulis, M. A.
Cost Analysis of two approaches to writing screening
Journal of School Psychology (2022)
Matta, M., Keller-Margulis, M.A., Mercer, S.H.
Evaluating validity and bias for hand-calculated and automated written expression curriculum-based measurement scores
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice (2022)
Matta, M., Mercer, S.H., Keller-Margulis, M.A.
Validity of Automated Text Evaluation: A Comparison Study
Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal (2021)
Keller-Margulis, M.A., Mercer, S.H., & Matta, M.
AI-FEED: Prototyping an AI powered platform for the food charity ecosystem
International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems (2024)
Sammer, M., Seong, K. Olvera, N., Gronseth, S., Anderson-Fletcher, E., Jiao, J., Reese,
A., & Kakadiaris, I. A.
Selected Awards & Grants
The AI-Driven Culturally Responsive Cognitive and Communication Intervention for Hispanic and Chinese-American Bilingual Autistic Children
Minority Health Grant Program/THECB. $400,000.
Investigator: Miao Li
Discovering AI Arts Workshop
ARTS Connect Houston. $3,500.
Investigator: Sheng Kuan Chung
Identifying Optimal Prompt Type and Scoring Metrics for Written Expression Curriculum-Based Measurement
Institute of Education Sciences. $1,387,725.
Investigator: Milena Keller-Margulis
AI-Assisted Learning
Leonora “Lora” Kaldaras was named a 2025 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow for her work on AI-assisted learning.
Designing Conversational AI Systems
National Science Foundation
10/1/2025-9/30/2028. $267,443.
Investigator: Elizabeth Rodwell
AI Reasoning and Code Generation
Sui Foundation’s Academic Research Award
Google Cloud Research Innovators Program
Investigator: Rabimba Karanjai
Read more
AI-Enhanced Oil Spill Detection
Integrating Hyperspectral Sensing and Molecular Fingerprinting; Funding agency
(UH DoR; Amount: $10,000; Grant period: 09/01/2024-12/31/2025;
Investigators: Jagos Radovic, Co-PIs: Shuhab Khan, Jiajia Sun)
Community Responsive Algorithms for Social Accountability
(2021-2024), $749,857
Co-Investigator (with Ryan Kennedy, Ioannis Kakadiaris, and Andrew Michaels
Investigator: Lydia Tiede, National Science Foundation Grant, award CCF 2131504
Integrating Artificial Intelligence Literacy into Athletic Training Education
Selected as the recipient of the 2025 Innovation Award, CAATE Foundation
Investigators: Ashlyne Elliott, PhD, LAT, ATC, Layci Harrison, PhD, LAT, ATC
Analysis Capabilities for Competition, Crisis, and Conflict (AC4)
$63.5M.
Investigator: Craig Glennie, Army
Characterizing Expected Uncertainty in Spaceborne High-Resolution Terrain Models for Examining Surface Processes
$505k
Investigator: Craig Glennie, NASA
HYDROPOWER RESERVOIR MODELING POWERED BY DEEP REINFORCEMENT LEARNING
Funding agency Deptarment of Energy
Investigator: Hongyi Li
Health behavior counseling using multi-modal large language models in pursuit of health equity for minoritized populations.
NIH AIM-AHEAD Consortium Development Program Innovation for Equity Call for Proposals.
OT2OD032581. 10/1/2024-9/30/2025. $499,992.
Role: Principal Investigator Winston Liaw
Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Student/Resident Curriculum and Video Series for Front-Line Clinicians
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
0/1/2023 – 6/1/2025. $102,500.
Role: Principal Investigator Winston Liaw
Teaching Innovation Program Grant - AI Awardees