Tyler Resident and UT Tyler May 2024 Graduate Recognized at Regional Scholars Forum

May 14, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan

Lucas Vega of Tyler, a May 2024 graduate of The University of Texas at Tyler, received this year’s “Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation” award at the ninth annual LSUS Regional Scholars Forum at Louisiana State University–Shreveport.

Vega presented “A Neural Network Approach to Predict Opioid Misuse Among Previously
Hospitalized Patients Using Electronic Health Records.” Dr. Robert Schumaker, UT Tyler professor of computer science, served as his faculty mentor.

“We appreciate the opportunity for our students to present at the LSUS Regional Student Scholars Forum,” said Dr. Amir Mirmiran, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “We are proud of Lucas and his excellent work, as well his mentor, Dr. Schumaker.”

The forum featured original undergraduate and graduate student research from more than 40
colleges and universities across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas.
Vega holds a UT Tyler Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and mathematics. He plans to become a statistician.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students.
Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has
unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent
patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World
Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.