View all past Research on Tap events.
Research on Tap: Engineering the Future of Surgery
Thursday, October 30 | 4-6 PM BUMC Hiebert Lounge (Room 1407) 72 East Concord Street, Boston, MA 02118 Advances at the intersection of surgery and engineering are reshaping how we understand and treat disease. From next-generation devices, robotics, and bioengineering platforms, to AI-powered decision support and predictive modeling, these collaborations are unlocking new possibilities for […]
Research on Tap: AI for Life Sciences
Wednesday, October 15 | 4-6 PM Kilachand Center Eichenbaum Room (Room 101) 610 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215 Advances in AI are impacting a wide range of scientific disciplines, including the life sciences. The emergence of large foundational models–including large language models and those trained on biological sequences–is unlocking new possibilities in synthetic biology, protein […]
Research on Tap: Parkinson’s Disease: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond
Thursday, October 23 | 4-6 PM Kilachand Center Eichenbaum Room (Room 101) 610 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215 Parkinson’s disease affects over 10 million people globally and is rapidly becoming the world’s fastest-growing neurological disorder. Despite its widespread impact, there’s still much we don’t understand about its underlying causes, how to mitigate disease progression, or […]
Research on Tap: Global Security in an Interconnected World
Tuesday, September 16 | 4-6 PM Kilachand Center Eichenbaum Room (Room 101) 610 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215 From climate change and nuclear weapons to migration and global health, today’s global security challenges stretch across borders — and academic silos. This Research on Tap event brings together scholars from across the BU community to engage […]
Research on Tap: The Biology of Aging (2025)
How does aging work at the biological level? What can we do to promote health as we grow older? And what is the latest science on extending human vitality? As the global population ages rapidly, with those over 60 expected to double by 2050, the need for breakthroughs in aging research is more urgent than […]
Research on Tap: Tackling Cancer Through Multidisciplinary Research (2025)
Cancer remains one of the most complex and pressing challenges in medicine, requiring innovative approaches that span disciplines and perspectives. Advancing our understanding through research is critical to unlocking new prevention strategies, breakthrough treatments, and improved outcomes for patients worldwide. This Research on Tap will showcase the breadth of expertise driving progress in cancer prevention, […]
Research on Tap: AI and the Humanities (2025)
Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of our lives, raising urgent questions about its implications for ethics, identity, and the health of our political and economic systems. At the same time, AI is opening new frontiers in humanities research—reshaping how we analyze complex texts, uncover historical insights, and approach critical fields like anthropology. At this […]
Research on Tap: How Social Policies Shape Our Lives from Birth to Old Age
Across the globe, governments are grappling with how to design policies that meet the needs of diverse and aging populations, address widening inequalities, and promote overall societal well-being. In the United States, debates over health care, economic safety nets, and education underscore the critical importance of evidence-based policy decisions. In this Research on Tap, we […]
BU’s Mike Dietze Calls for Greater Investment in Eco Forecasting
Through a recently published paper in Nature Climate Change, scientists at the Ecological Forecasting Initiative – including BU’s Michael Dietz, as lead author, and Yannis Paschalidis – call for a new vision of data-driven environmental decision-making and greater investment in ecological forecasting in order to combat climate change. Dietz and his fellow scientists are working to advance the field through a process that enables them to continually update model predictions with observed data in order to improve our ability to foresee what may happen in the future, predicting changes in ecosystems and subsequent impacts on communities.
Research on Tap: Addressing Health Inequities with a Health Economics Lens (2024)
From where we live and work to the education and income we receive, countless factors determine our health. These inequities aren’t random; they are rooted in the systems that govern our daily lives, including health care structures, employment markets, and public policies. Understanding how these drivers compound across individual, community, and societal levels and identifying […]