Photo courtesy NBC 10 Boston
UMass Lowell and Mass General Brigham announced Tuesday a new collaboration to advance cognitive and decision-making performance for members of the military, law enforcement and security during stressful, complex situations.
Together, they will tap the expertise of researchers at each institution to adapt and apply knowledge developed for top athletes to create a library of realistic training scenarios designed to enhance specific aspects of cognition as identified by the U.S. armed services.
Mass General Brigham, the largest hospital-based research enterprise in the U.S. with a budget of nearly $1.2 billion as recently as 2021, becomes the second announced member of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor’s (LINC) initial rollout. Draper announced in March they will join LINC.
In addition to the joint research, UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen praised the opportunities created for students for advanced learning through co-ops, internships and hands-on learning.
“Working directly with Mass General Brigham gives our students the opportunity to work with a world-class organization and engage in unrivaled learning experiences in kinesiology, exercise physiology, neuroscience and across the life sciences,” Chen said.
Chen also pointed to opportunities for faculty and researchers at both organizations to advance discoveries through UMass Lowell’s HEROES (Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers) and Mass General Brigham’s Center for Sports Performance and Research.
“All of us at Mass General Brigham are so proud to collaborate with UMass Lowell to bring our cutting-edge science and training techniques to support first responders and our military. Ensuring these brave individuals have access to perform their duties in the best way possible is something our entire team at the Center for Sports Performance and Research is ready to get started,” said R. Scott Gassett, vice president of sports medicine at Mass General Brigham.
“We’re excited to welcome Mass General Brigham to Lowell,” Chen said. “We’re well on our way to creating a critical mass of public, private and nonprofit collaborators to continue growing our research, providing our students outstanding learning opportunities and creating positive economic impact in Lowell.”
Congresswoman Lori Trahan, who helped launch LINC in March, applauded the announcement.
“With the addition of Mass General Brigham, the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor continues to attract exceptional organizations leading cutting-edge work in health, sciences, microelectronics and manufacturing,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The future is bright for UMass Lowell students, Mill City families, and our local economy, which will benefit from the $3.7 billion in economic activity and 2,000 permanent jobs created through LINC.”
The Lowell Innovation Network Corridor, or LINC, will be at the heart of an economic transformation in Lowell. The new development will help meet the facilities, workforce and research needs of companies seeking to relocate to Lowell to work alongside university faculty researchers and students.
Members of the public-private development include research non-profit Draper Laboratory, Mass General Brigham, UMass Lowell and the City of Lowell.
UMass Lowell is leading active conversations with additional potential members to scale up existing university-industry partnerships across multiple sectors including robotics, biotechnology and biomedical devices, space technology, sensors, climate tech, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, electronics and human performance.
LINC is anticipated to create 1,300 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs, nearly 500 new housing units, 1.2 million square feet of labs, office space, housing, restaurants, retail and entertainment venues while generating $4 million to $6 million in annual tax revenue for the City of Lowell.
