Research & Innovation
Using data science and research for innovative solutions to transform urban challenges into actionable insights.
"Data work is what we do."
Research Spotlight:
AI Report to NJ Governor
In 2024, IDRIS leadership contributed expertise to the report to the Governor on Artificial Intelligence.
This comprehensive report, developed by a state-appointed Task Force including IDRIS Executive Director Dr. Fay Cobb Payton and Associate Professor Gregory Porumbescu, examines the potential societal impacts of emerging AI technologies, particularly Generative AI (GenAI).
The report provides findings and recommendations aimed at ensuring New Jersey leverages AI responsibly and ethically to improve government services, enhance equity, foster innovation, and create economic opportunities for its residents. Key areas addressed include safety and privacy considerations, workforce training, Al equity and literacy, and strategies for making New Jersey a hub for AI innovation.
Our Research & Innovation Themes
Highlighting themes that drive our research.
Regional Research Participation
NSF I-Corps Hub Northeast Region
IDRIS extends its research influence and commitment to innovation through active participation in significant regional initiatives.
IDRIS Executive Director Dr. Fay Cobb Payton served as an Research and Evaluation Lead for the NSF I-Corps Hub Northeast Region.
I-Corps prepares scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory to increase the economic and societal impact of NSF-funded and other basic research projects.
Dr. Fay Cobb Payton
Executive Director, Institute for Data, Research, and Innovation Science (IDRIS)
About the NSF I-Corps Hub Northeast Region
The NSF I-Corps Hub Northeast Region supports researchers in transforming scientific discoveries into market-ready products and services that benefit society.
It offers free events, mentorship, and accelerator programs through a collaborative network of universities to help innovators assess and advance the feasibility of their ideas.
Featured Research Publications & Conferences
Kihyun (Hannah) Kim Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Marketing
Research Focus: Customer relationship management and digital marketing strategies, with a focus on how data and technology shape customer behavior and firm outcomes
- Xiaoru Gao, Chan Choi, Sunghoon Kim, Kihyun Hannah Kim, Madhavi Chakrabarty (2025), “How Does Brand-Generated Content Engage Consumers: A Study on Fashion Brands Instagram Data” Journal of Interactive Marketing, forthcoming.
- Nita Umashankar, Kihyun Hannah Kim, Thomas Reutterer (2023), “Understanding Customer Participation Dynamics: The Case of the Subscription Box”, Journal of Marketing, 87(5), 719-35.
- Ozum Zor, Kihyun Hannah Kim and Ashwani Monga (2022) “Tweets We Like Aren’t Alike: Time of Day Affects Engagement with Vice and Virtue Tweets”, Journal of Consumer Research, 49(3), 473-95.
- Kihyun Hannah Kim and V. Kumar (2021) “Money or Friendship – Winning over Customers”, Management and Business Review, 1(2), 87-93.
Fay Cobb Payton Ph.D.
IDRIS Executive Director
Research Focus: Algorithm development and evaluation; healthcare systems, applications, and comorbidities; data curation and bias; innovation ecosystems; and STEM talent development and retention.
- Hurd, T. Payton, F. and Hood, D. Targeting ML and AI Algorithms in Healthcare to Reduce Bias and Improve Population Health, The Milbank Quarterly, 2024.
- Payton, F.C. 3 Ways Apple Intelligence and Embedded AI Will Transform Daily Life, Forbes Online, 2024.
- Payton, F.C. When the Algorithm Hallucinates: Disinformation or Misinformation Results, Forbes Online, 2024.
- Payton, F.C. AI Strategy: Think Before You Leap, Triangle Business Journal, 2024.
- Payton, F.C. Without Small Data, AI in Health Care Contributes to Disparities, Scientific American, September 2023.
- Kar, A. K., He, W., Payton, F.C., Grover, V., et al., How Could Quantum Computing Shape Information Systems Research – An Editorial Perspective and Future Directions, International Journal of Information Management, 2024.
Anthony Mayo Ph.D.
Biomedical Informatics Co-Adjutant
Research Focus: Computational Models for Substance Use Disorder (SUDS)
- Mayo, Anthony, “Trends in Substance-Related Emergency Department Visits and Treatment Outcome in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder in the United States”, Global Learning through Global Health: Advancing Common Goals, Together, December 4, 2019, Office of Global Health & Brain Health Institute, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
- Mayo, Anthony, “Trends in Substance-Related Emergency Department Visits and Treatment Outcome in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder in the United States”, Computational Models in Disease: Applications and Implications, May 9, 2019, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
- Frank E, Tu XM, Anderson B, Reynolds CF 3rd, Karp JF, Mayo A, Ritenour A, Kupfer DJ. Effects of positive and negative life events on time to depression onset: an analysis of additivity and timing. Psychol Med. 1996 May;26(3):613-24. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700035686. PMID: 8733219.
- Stack JA, Paradis CF, Reynolds CF 3rd, Houck PR, Frank E, Anderson B, Mayo AL, Miller MD, Rifai AH, Perel JM, et al. Does recruitment method make a difference? Effects on protocol retention and treatment outcome in elderly depressed patients. Psychiatry Res. 1995 Jan 31;56(1):17-24. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(94)02617-r. PMID: 7792338.
Alex Gimenez-Santana M.Sc., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Professional Practice
Research Focus: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Public Safety, Crime Analysis, Neighborhood Effects on Crime, Community Responses to Prevent and Reduce Crime
- Giménez-Santana, A., Tissandier, G., Santos, A., Zlaoui, K., Caplan, J. M., & Kennedy, L. W. (R&R). Evaluating the effect of enhanced LED street lighting on nighttime crime in Newark, NJ. Journal of Quantitative Criminology.
- La Vigne, N., Giménez-Santana, A., Tissandier, G., & Santos, A. (2026). Widening the aperture of the opportunity lens: engaging local stakeholders in the interpretation of crime concentrations. Crime Science. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-026-00285-x
- Dugato, M., Giménez-Santana, A., Santos, A., Caplan, J. M., & Kennedy, L. W. (2026). “Not all convenience stores are equal”. An analysis of the criminogenic role of corner Stores in Newark, NJ. Journal of Criminal Justice, 102, 102552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102552
W. Evan Johnson Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Research Focus: Computational modeling and genomics for precision medicine in cancer, infection, and immunity, integrating multi-omics data and studying host-pathogen interactions.
- Lopez K, Reiss R, Kaipilyawar V, VanValkenburg A, Wang X, Modi N, Hennig E, Wats A, Eichberg C, Nakiyingi L, Centner C, McCarthy K, Ellner JJ, Alland D, Dorman SE, Johnson WE, Xie YL, Salgame P. Development of a four-gene host signature for paucibacillary TB among symptomatic individuals with sputum Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra very low and trace results. Int J Infect Dis. 2026 Aug;169:108763. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108763. Epub 2026 May 3. PubMed PMID: 42086105.
- Quiles KR, Shao FZ, Johnson WE, Chen F. Epithelial remodeling and microbial dysbiosis in the lower respiratory tract of vitamin A-deficient mouse lungs. Sci Rep. 2026 Jan 10;16(1):4663. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-34926-z. PubMed PMID: 41513858; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12868735.
- Mbabazi M, Kateete DP, Nakazzi F, Wandera JN, Mutesi N, Ocan M, Biraro IA, Abaasa A, Johnson WE, Wee B, Muwonge A. The impact of tuberculosis and its treatment on the lung and gut microbiota: a global systematic review, meta-analysis, and amplicon-based metagenomic meta-analysis. BMC Infect Dis. 2025 Dec 30;26(1):219. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-12369-1. PubMed PMID: 41469598; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12860090.
- Ruan QT, Lynch WB, Cole RH, Rieger MA, Baskin BM, Miracle SA, Beierle JA, Yao EJ, Cox JW, Kandola A, Richardson KT, Chen MM, Billups JC, Babbs RK, Ash PEA, Wolozin B, Szumlinski KK, Johnson WE, Dougherty JD, Bryant CD. The striatal heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H1 mRNA targetome associated with methamphetamine administration and behavior. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2026 Jan 2;144:111598. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111598. Epub 2025 Dec 24. PubMed PMID: 41453486; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12811841.
- Delpech JC, Yeh H, Kalavai SV, You Y, Ruan Z, Touch N, Hersh S, Monguillon P, Johnson WE, Rau A, Madore C, Ikezu T, Ikezu S. Sex specific correction of maternal inflammation-induced behavioral abnormalities by the inhibition of colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor. Brain Behav Immun. 2026 Jan;131:106163. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2025.106163. Epub 2025 Nov 2. PubMed PMID: 41187794.
- Lab’s Websites:
David Troutt J.D.
Distinguished Professor
Research Focus: Tort law, Intellectual property, Civil rights, Racial and economic inequality
- Urban Renewal’s Grandchildren: Remedying the Persistent Effects of Post-War Race Planning, 52 Fordham Urb. L. J. 91 (2024). https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/
ulj/vol52/iss1/3/ - DEI and Public Universities: Guideposts for a New Era, a CLiME publication, with Anna Griffith, March 12, 2025, at https://static1.squarespace.
com/static/ 5b996f553917ee5e584ba742/t/ 67d1d35e71abdb3a2650bf1a/ 1741804384359/DEI+at+Public+ Universities+FINAL.pdf. - Empowering Public Property: Simulating New Housing, Economic Development and Greenspace Policy with Newark’s City-Owned Property Inventory, with Elana Simon, a CLiME publication, February 2024, at https://www.clime.rutgers.edu/
publications-filtered/ empowering-public-property- simulating-new-housing- economic-development-and- greenspace-policy-with- newarks-city-owned-property- inventory. - Who Owns Newark? Transferring Wealth from Newark Homeowners to Corporate Buyers, with Katharine Nelson, a CLiME publication, May 2, 2022, at https://www.clime.rutgers.edu/
publications-filtered/who- owns-newark. Professor Troutt also has an upcoming book in the press: Reckoning the Racial Reckoning: From Backlash to Accountability after George FloydBy David Dante Troutt, J.D.Cambridge University Press
Kimele Persaud Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology and MC² Lab Director
Research Focus: Employing computational cognitive models to understand semantic and episodic memory processes across development.
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Hu, T. A., & Persaud, K. (2026). Evaluating emotion effects on episodic memory: what makes negative information memorable? Motivation and Emotion, 1-24.
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Archer, K., Flores, V., & Persaud, K. (2026). Hidden in Plain Sight: Expectation Congruency and Encoding Context Influence Object-Feature Memory. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society.
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Macias, C., & Persaud, K. (2025). Investigating the colour bizarreness effect in long-term memory. Memory, 34(1), 1-18.
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Persaud, K., Macias, C., & Bonawitz, E. (2025). Expectation-[in] congruence differentially impacts recall and recognition of object features. Memory & Cognition, 54(1), 85-108.
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Co-PI. Rutgers – Newark Chancellor Seed Grant: “Revolutionizing Earlier Alzheimer’s Detection: An Age-Agnostic, Non-Invasive Cognitive Mapping and Topological Approach Unaffected by Cultural and Educational Barriers.” Drs. Bernadette Fausto, Touseef Haider, and Kimele Persaud
Gregory Porumbescu Ph.D.
Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration
Research Focus: Public management, the influence of technology on the democratic anchorage of public organizations
- Gao, C., Caldarulo, M., & Porumbescu, G. A. (2026). Linking broadband availability to perceived digital skills: The moderating role of education. State and Local Government Review.
- Nieuwenhuizen, E. N., Trehan, V., & Porumbescu, G. A. (2026). Does institutional transparency affect citizen trust in predictive policing? Evidence from a survey-experiment in the Netherlands. Public Administration.
- Porumbescu, G. A., Trehan, V., & Edomwonyi, A. (2026). Frontline workers and civic tech: Bridging the responsiveness gap in digital client encounters. Public Administration Review, 86(4), 1045–1059.
- Kalesnikaite, V., Neshkova, M. I., & Porumbescu, G. A. (2025). The role of target populations in resident support for local collaboration. Public Administration Review, 85(4), 1115–1133.
- Porumbescu, G., Walsh, S., & Hetling, A. (2025). Can reducing learning costs improve public support for means-tested benefit programs? Policy Studies Journal, 53(1), 135–157.
- Porumbescu, G., Young, M., & Yang, K. (2025). Introduction to special issue on generative AI and public administration: Performance, accountability, and democratic governance. Public Performance & Management Review, 48(6), 1263–1267.
- Trehan, V., Porumbescu, G., & Piotrowski, S. (2025). Community-oriented or self-interested? Citizen motivations for engaging in digital coproduction. Public Administration.
- Walsh, S., Porumbescu, G. A., & Hetling, A. (2025). Using technology to reduce learning costs and improve program comprehension: Lessons from a survey experiment on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Public Administration Review, 85(3), 833–845.