5 posts tagged with "Python"

Summary​

The UM Primate Behavior Lab studies the evolutionary causes and consequences of primate behavior and physiology, with much of its research focused on wild mountain gorillas monitored by the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda. Gorilla Hormone is a data management web application that brings hormone assay results and other data about individual gorillas into a single, curated location for the lab. An early version of the application was prototyped by the lab but it lacked key functionality needed for use in production. The Research Software Engineering team worked closely with Dr. Stacy Rosenbaum and the Primate Behavior Lab to complete and enhance the site, adding a validated uploader for data coming from lab equipment, permissions-based editing, and views for sorting and filtering records.

Revel is a dating app developed for Dr. Amie Gordon and Dr. Elizabeth Bruch to study and improve romantic connections using scientific methods rather than profit-driven motives. Unlike typical dating apps, Revel aims to track and understand the full lifecycle of relationships, not just the dating stage. The app is tailored for university students, allowing researchers to gather comprehensive data and insights to benefit relationship science.

The WHIRLWell mobile app was created for Dr. Amie Gordon, who leads the WHIRLab in LSA Psychology. Dr. Gordon observed that many research studies in her field involve delivering scheduled surveys to study participants and requiring participants to complete these surveys within specific timeframes. In the past, text messaging has been used to send participants reminders to complete surveys at specified times, but the tools to do this can be both cumbersome and costly. Dr. Gordon wanted to create a mobile app that research participants could use to register for studies and then receive notifications when surveys related to these studies are available. This would additionally allow users to manage their study participation directly from within the app, as well as giving them the option to indicate their relationships with other study participants, which is especially important in studies looking into relationship development and dynamics.

The LSA Herbarium curates and maintains a comprehensive database collection of known vascular plant species growing wild in Michigan, based on the Field Manual of Michigan Flora. The original Michigan Flora website was developed decades ago to serve as an “evolving illustrated companion to the Field Manual, presenting photographs of the species and their diagnostic features, and build on the foundation of the Field Manual by incorporating updates and new discoveries.” The original website had become quite dated, however, and increasingly difficult to use, update, maintain, and secure. The Research Software Engineering team worked closely with Michigan Flora curators to design and develop an all new Michigan Flora website from the ground up.

The lab needed data to refine and test their Circadian Rhythms Models, so our group created iPhone and Android apps that allowed users to donate their heart rate and step data and get an analysis back from the lab in return. The smartphone sends data to a server/database, and it is processed by multiple algorithms, some of which generate reports for the users.