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Research Team

Ravi Teja Bhupatiraju photo

Bhupatiraju, Ravi Teja MBBS, PhD
Health Informatics Research Scientist, Accessible Healthcare Through AI-Augmented Decisions Center

Research Interests: Clinical decision-making using LLMs, Biomedical information retrieval, clinical education standards, clinical cognition.

   
Henry Chu photo

Chu, Henry, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Informatics Research Institute
Professor, School of Computing and Informatics

Research Interests: Machine learning and Computer vision (Medical imaging), Clinical Trials, Pattern recognition.

   

Raju Gottumukkala photo

Gottumukkala, Raju, PhD
Director, Accessible Healthcare through AI-Augmented Decisions (AHeAD) Center; Director of Research; Informatics Research Institute; AAMA/LEQSF Regents Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
337.482.0632

Research Interests: Human-centric intelligent systems, multimodal sensing and learning, privacy-aware methods for human behavior sensing, cyber-physical system security, AI/ML for emergency management and public health.

   

Alicia Guidry photo

Guidry, Alicia, PhD
Health IT Specialist

Research Interests:public health informatics, global health

   

Hosseini, Majid, PhD
Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist
Accessible Healthcare through AI-Augmented Decisions (AHeAD) Center

Research Interests: Multimodal learning, human-centric intelligent systems (multimodal learning, real-world implementation science, federated Learning, telehealth.

   

Kolluru, Ramesh, Ph.D.
President, UL Lafayette

Research Interests: Control Systems, Health Informatics, Social Computing

   

LaCombe, Micah
Chief Technology Officer

   

Lakhotia, Arun, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity
Professor, Lockheed Martin/BORSF Endowed Professor, School of Computing and Informatics

Research Interests: Software engineering, security and trusted computing

   

Leathem-Boe, Peyton
Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist

Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, AL/ML in Renewable Natural Resources, and AI Literacy

   

Sakhamuri, Sahithya
Health Innovation Research Associate

Research Interests: Cancer risks and food insecurities

   

Smith, Sadie, MPH
Health Innovation Research Scientist

Research Interests: Community mobilization, patient advocacy, and health education

   

Williams, James "Jim", MBA, LEM-B
Public-Private Partnership Officer

   

Wilson, Gabriela, PhD
Director, Louisiana Center for Health Innovation;
Dr. J. Robert Rivet Endowed Chair;
Acadian Ambulance Service/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Health Informatics; Professor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Research Interests:Health and pharmaco-informatics, interprofessional education and multidisciplinary research with community, academic, and industrial partners, and social media analytics.

   

 

 

 

Learn More About Our Research Centers

Accessible Healthcare through AI-Augmented Decisions

The National Science Foundation approved the Accessible Healthcare for AI-Augmented Decisions (AHeAD) Center to move forward with planning in July 2025. Its mission brings university researchers and healthcare industry stakeholders together to conduct foundational research needed to create usable AI-augmented decision support tools that enhance healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs.AHeAD is a multi-university research partnership between UL Lafayette (lead), Tulane University, the University of Florida, and Georgia Tech. Tampere University in Finland has expressed interest in becoming a university partner.

Meet AHeAD Director, Dr. Raju Gottumukkala

 

 

 

 

 

 

Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence

The Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence (CAAI) is dedicated to pursuing use-driven AI research, training an AI-ready workforce, and creating a platform to accelerate innovation to support the local economy. The center serves as a hub where AI researchers, domain experts from diverse disciplines, industry specialists, and community stakeholders come together to address real-world challenges.

Meet CAAI Director, Raju Gottumukkala, PhD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Center for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (CCIC)

The Center for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (CCIC) brings together multiple and diverse experts from across the University to help our nation prepare for cyberattacks that may impact the country's critical infrastructure.CCIC was founded to examine cybersecurity from the perspective of the cascading impact of a significant cyber incident on the nation’s critical infrastructure, such as that experienced by the 2015 cyberattack on the Ukrainian Power Grid. The Center for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University, UK, now places cyberattacks as a “blue sky hazard” that can take an entire power grid down for a prolonged period. A consequence of such an attack would extend beyond the loss of data; it could completely disrupt the functioning of society, much like a large-scale natural disaster.

 Meet CCIC Director Arun Lakhotia, PhD

Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center

The NIMSAT Institute manages the daily operations of the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center (LABEOC). The center assists Louisiana businesses and non-profit organizations in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts to ensure community stability, resilience, and economic revitalization.

Louisiana Center for Health Innovation

The Louisiana Center for Health Innovation (LCHI) is dedicated to advancing healthcare innovation by developing research, education, and engagement activities that foster collaboration among academia, industry, and the community. This commitment aims to improve healthcare outcomes, promote health equity, and develop a skilled workforce that meets the needs of Louisiana and beyond.


Learn more about LCHI and meet the Director, Gabriela Wilson, PhD, MSc, FHIMSS, FIAHSI, SNAI.

 

 

National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies

The National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies (NIMSAT) Institute focuses on enriching public-private partnerships and advanced information technologies to enhance the national resiliency for a full range of potential disasters. Our mission is to save human lives. Our experienced emergency management team joins university researchers and technology experts to build a more resilient America through education, training, outreach, and operational support, empowering the homeland security and emergency management community.