Mia K. Markey
Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
Phone: (512) 471-1711
Fax: (512) 471-0616
Email: mia.markey@mail.utexas.edu
Dr. Markey's
Web site
Dr. Mia Markey earned her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering along with a certificate in bioinformatics
from Duke University in North Carolina in 2002. She joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin
that same year. She directs the
Biomedical Informatics Lab. Dr. Markey is the 2006 recipient of the American
Medical Informatics Association News Investigator Award.
Dr. Markey is interested in the application of artificial intelligence, signal processing, and
statistical techniques in biology and medicine. Her lab seeks to design cost-effective
computer-based decision aids, such as clinical decision support systems to help healthcare providers
better diagnose, treat, and manage disease. One current project involves computer-aided detection
of breast cancer, the most common cancer among American women. Early detection through mammograms
increases the survival rate, but some cancers are difficult to detect. Markey is designing computer
software to help radiologists detect the signs of breast cancer most commonly missed in mammograms.
She is also researching methods for quantifying the changes to a woman’s appearance that result from
breast cancer treatments. Surgery remains the primary component of multidisciplinary treatment plans
for breast cancer. However, surgical treatments result in permanent alterations to the appearance
of the breast, which is critical to breast cancer survivors’ quality of life. Markey is working with
reconstructive surgeons and behavioral scientists to understand which factors most affect survivors’ appearance and quality of life.
Research interests:
- Biomedical informatics
- Machine learning
- Biomedical image processing
- Computer-aided diagnosis
- Biometrics