07/17/2024
By bec rollins
UMass Lowell and Mass General Brigham have announced a new collaboration to advance cognitive and decision-making performance for members of the military, law enforcement and security during stressful, complex situations.
Together, they will tap the expertise of researchers at each institution to adapt and apply knowledge developed for top athletes to create a library of realistic training scenarios designed to enhance specific aspects of cognition as identified by the U.S. armed services.
Mass General Brigham will be an additional member of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor’s (LINC) initial rollout. Draper announced in March they will join LINC.
In addition to the joint research, UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen praised the opportunities created for students for advanced learning through co-ops, internships and hands-on learning.
“Working directly with Mass General Brigham gives our students the opportunity to work with a world-class organization and engage in unrivaled learning experiences in kinesiology, exercise physiology, neuroscience and across the life sciences,” Chen said.
Chen also pointed to opportunities for faculty and researchers at both organizations to advance discoveries through UMass Lowell’s HEROES (Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers) and Mass General Brigham’s Center for Sports Performance and Research.
“All of us at Mass General Brigham are so proud to collaborate with UMass Lowell to bring our cutting-edge science and training techniques to support first responders and our military. Ensuring these brave individuals have access to perform their duties in the best way possible is something our entire team at the Center for Sports Performance and Research is ready to get started,” said R. Scott Gassett, vice president of sports medicine at Mass General Brigham.
The announcement comes immediately following a major event focused on human performance on June 24 and 25 at Gillette Stadium called “Unlocking Human Potential: Future Performance, Cognition and Machine Collaboration for Public Health and National Security” sponsored by UMass Lowell, Mass General Brigham and Boston-based accelerator Mass Challenge.
The event included panels emphasizing roles of women leaders in defense and industry. Speakers in research and technology fields talked about talent identification and recruitment, development and retention, as well as leadership approaches and strategies.
Keynote speakers included Jennifer Santos, vice president and chief strategy officer at Draper; Michelle O’Hara, executive vice president and chief Human Resources officer at SAIC; Lisa Sanders, director of science and technology for Special Operations Forces, Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, U.S. Special Operations Command; and Kimberly Ploskonka, principal deputy, DEVCOM Army Research Lab Regional Site Synchronization Office. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll also attended and spoke at the conference.
“We’re excited to welcome Mass General Brigham to Lowell,” Chen said. “We’re well on our way to creating a critical mass of public, private and non-profit collaborators to continue growing our research, providing our students outstanding learning opportunities and creating positive economic impact in Lowell.”
Congresswoman Lori Trahan, who helped launch LINC in March, applauded the announcement.
“With the addition of Mass General Brigham, the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor continues to attract exceptional organizations leading cutting-edge work in health, sciences, microelectronics and manufacturing,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The future is bright for UMass Lowell students, Mill City families, and our local economy, which will benefit from the $3.7 billion in economic activity and 2,000 permanent jobs created through LINC.”