CV
EDUCATION
| Ph.D. | Nutritional Sciences University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2022 |
|---|---|---|
| M.P.H | Epidemiology Indiana University- Bloomington |
2015 |
| B.S., B.S. | Biology, Neuroscience Indiana University- Bloomington |
2013 |
APPOINTMENTS
| Informatics Data Scientist, Lab of John Garrett & Department of Radiology | 2024-Present |
|---|---|
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | |
| Postdoctoral Research Associate, Labs of Claudia Solis-Lemus & John Garrett | 2023- 2024 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Scientist, Lab of Adam Kuchnia | 2022- 2022 |
|---|---|
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | |
Statistical Consulting, Lab of Alfonso Morales University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2019-2021 |
Graduate Research Assistant, Lab of Adam Kuchnia University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2019-2022 |
Personal Chef, Chefs for Seniors Madison, Wisconsin |
2017-2018 |
Health and Wellness Coordinator, Boys and Girls Club Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
2016-2017 |
Farm to School AmeriCorps Member, AmeriCorps & Winnebago County Health Dept. Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
2016-2017 |
Alternative Classroom Experience Counselor, AmeriCorps & Pfeifer Kiwanis Camp Little Rock, Arkansas |
2015-2016 |
Statistical Consulting, Lab of Lucia Guerra-Reyes Indiana University-Bloomington |
2015 |
Research, Education, and Policy Intern, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Indiana University-Bloomington |
2015 |
Graduate Research Assistant, Lab of M. Aaron Sayegh Indiana University-Bloomington |
2014-2015 |
MENTORSHIP
| Graduate Students Mentored | |
|---|---|
Lauren Clark Current Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2021- 2023 |
Israel Rodriguez Current Healthcare Data Analyst at IEHP |
2014-2015 |
Emily Abruzzi Current Senior Research and Evaluation Associate at Ripple Effect |
2014-2015 |
| Undergraduate Students Mentored | |
Alexandria Wong Current Data Science Major, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2024-Present |
Yunju Ha Current post-bachelor researcher at National Institutes of Health, Graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison 2025 |
2023-2025 |
Lakes Tang Current Computer Sciences Major, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2023-2024 |
Sujay Garlapati Current medical student at Drexel, Graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison 2023 |
2021-2022 |
Arden He Graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison 2022 |
2020-2021 |
Olivia Rossman Graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison 2023 |
2020-2021 |
Hunter Weber Graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison 2021 |
2019-2020 |
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
| Machine Learning + X Leadership Committee | 2023-Present |
|---|---|
| Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison | |
Founding Member, Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2020-2022 |
Council Member, Madison Food Policy Council Madison, Wisconsin |
2019-2021 |
| Vice President, Rotaract of Oshkosh | 2016-2017 |
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
| Instructor, Improv for STEMM (graduate and professional level) | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin- Madison | |
Co-instructor, Improv for Scientists with Amy Zelenski (graduate level) Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2022 |
Co-instructor, Improv for Health Professionals with Amy Zelenski (professional level) Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2021 |
Food Policy Instructor, Food and Culture Special Topics Course (undergraduate level) Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2019 |
Statistics and Coding Instructor, Lab of M. Aaron Sayegh (graduate level) Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University- Bloomington |
2014-2015 |
Teaching Assistant, Integrative Human Physiology (undergraduate level) Department of Human Biology, Indiana University- Bloomington |
2012-2013 |
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION & MEDIA EXPERIENCE
| Creation and Facilitation of Applied Improv for Scientists Workshops | 2024-present |
|---|---|
| Emcee of “Why-Sci Variety Show” by the Wisconsin Science Festival | 2025 |
| Emcee, produce, and performer for Sci-prov: science and improve combined | 2024- present |
| Founder of Amalgam Improv (link) | 2024- present |
| Emcee of “Big Ideas for Busy People” by the Wisconsin Science Festival | 2024 |
| Science and Art AI Morphs Exhibit | 2024 |
| Emcee of Wisconsin Institute of Discovery Annual Symposium | 2023 |
| Founder and CEO of Deeper Than Data Media | 2020-Present |
| Host and Producer, Deeper Than Data Podcast (link) | 2020-2023 |
| Host and Producer, Badger Talks Podcast (link) | 2021-2023 |
| President, Neuroscience Club at Indiana University-Bloomington | 2011-2013 |
HONORS AND AWARDS
“Geospatial Linking & Mapping of CT-derived Biomarkers, Socioeconomic Status, and Healthcare Access” Internal Research & Development Pilot Grant. Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2025-2026 |
|---|---|
| NIH Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program Award Selectee | 2025-present |
| Open Science Grid selected scholar, Open Science Grid User School | 2023 |
| Madison, Wisconsin | |
Honorary associate in the Department of Surgery School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2021-2024 |
Graduate Engaged Scholar Nomination by Graduate Program Coordinator Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2021 |
Undergraduate Mentorship Award Nomination by Prof. Adam Kuchnia Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2020 |
Hattie B. Goessling Nutritional Science Scholarship Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2020 |
Hattie B. Goessling Nutritional Science Scholarship Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2019 |
Ruth and Carl Miller Academic Merit Award Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Madison |
2019 |
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
| Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine |
|---|
| American Society for Bone and Mineral Research |
| American Association for the Advancement of Science |
PUBLICATIONS
Krueger, D, Borchardt, G… Rush, B. E., et al. Novel DXA body composition approaches: comparison with traditional total body scans. Journal of Clinical Densitometry, 2026.
Rush, B.E., Moeller, A, Lee, M.H., Pooler, B.D., Summers, R. M., Pickhardt,P.J., Garrett, J.W. A Novel Deep Learning-Based Automated Adipose Tissue Segmentation Model for Value-Added Screening at Abdominal CT. Abdominal Radiology, in review.
Pooler, B.D., Garrett, J.W., Lee, M.H., Rush, B.E., Summers, R.M., Pickhardt, P.J. CT-Based Body Composition Measures and Systemic Disease: A Population-Level Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in Over 100,000 Patients. American Journal of Roentgenology, published online.
Rush, B.E., Garlapati, S., Lortie, J., Osterbauer, K., Colgan, T. J., Tamada, D., Campbell, T. C., Traynor, A., Leal, T., Lee, K., Reeder, S. B., & Kuchnia, A. J. Uncorrected and subcutaneous fat-corrected echo intensities are similarly associated with magnetic resonance imaging per cent fat. JCSM Communications, 2024.
Lortie, J., Rush, B.E., Gage, Gr., Dhingra, R., Hetzel, S., Pickhardt, P., Szczykutowicz, T., Kuchnia, A.
Correcting Posterior Paraspinal Muscle Computed Tomography Density for Intravenous Contrast Material Independent of Sex and Vascular Phase, Journal of Thoracic Imaging, 2023.
Lortie, J., Gage, G., Rush, B.E., Heymsfield, S., Szczykutowicz, T., and Kuchnia, A. The effect of computed tomography parameters on sarcopenia and myosteatosis assessment: a scoping review. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 2022.
Lortie, J.*, Rush, B.E.*, Osterbauer, K., et al. Myosteatosis as a Shared Biomarker for Sarcopenia and Cachexia Using MRI and Ultrasound. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 2022.
* Co-first authorship
Rush, B.E., Binkley, N., Kruger, D., et al. Combination of DXA and BIS predicts jump power better than traditional measures of sarcopenia. Journal of Bone Mineral Research Plus, 2021.
Guerra-Reyes, L., Rush, B.E., Herbenick, D. et al. Sexual Health and Language Dominance Among Hispanic/Latino Women and Men: Analysis of a Nationally Representative Sample. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health, 2016.
PEER REVIEW
NPJ Oncology
International Society for Computational Biology
Osteoporosis International
Journal of Food Science
Gerontology
PRESENTATIONS
| Invited Presentations | |
|---|---|
“Better Data Science Communication through Improv” Data Science Research Bazaar, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2026 |
“Skills Building Seminar: AI as a Productivity Assistant” Research Summit, Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2026 |
| “The Effects of Prompt Engineering and Consensus on Identification of Incidental Breast Findings by Large Language Models from Radiology Reports” | 2025 |
| Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon | |
| “Mission Genesis: Generative AI, creativity, and science communication” | 2025 |
| Research Bazaar Symposium, University of Wisconsin-Madison | |
| “Team Science Workshop” | 2025 |
| University of Colorado-Boulder, Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology | |
“The Effect of Prompt Elements on Labelling Incidental Breast Findings by Llama3-8B in Radiology Reports” Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine, Conference on Machine Intelligence in Medical Imaging |
2024 |
| “Evaluating prompts and LLMs to identify incidental findings in radiology reports” | 2024 |
| Systems | Information | Learning | Optimization, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| “An introduction to strategic science communication” | 2024 |
| Computational & Mathematical Biology Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| “Exploring AI in Teaching: Use Cases for Your Course” | 2024 |
| Center for Teaching, Learning, & Mentoring, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
“Statistical and Epidemiological Concepts for Screening Radiology” Screening Radiology Elective, University of Wisconsin, Madison |
2024 |
| “AI for Scientists” Workshop | 2024 |
| Departments of Radiology and Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| “Tech in Writing” invited speaker | 2024 |
| Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| “Empathetic Science Communication for KL2 Scholars” | 2024 |
| Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| “Something's funny: humor for better communication and teamwork in science” | 2024 |
| Plant Pathology JEDI seminar, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| Moderator for closing panel | 2024 |
| Research Bazaar, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| “AI for Scientists” Workshop | 2024 |
| Research Bazaar, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| “The SciComm Generator” from Deeper Than Data Media | 2024 |
| 1 Million Cups invited presenter, Starting Block, Madison | |
| “Science communication + GPT: Strategies for open and empathetic science communication” | 2023 |
| Machine Leaning + X Forum, University of Wisconsin- Madison | |
| “An introduction to strategic science communication” | 2023 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | |
| “Something's funny: humor for better communication, teamwork and ideas in science” | 2023 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | |
| “An introduction to strategic science communication” | 2023 |
| Asa Gray Biological Society, Utica University | |
| Emcee and facilitator | 2023 |
| Wisconsin Institute of Discovery Annual Symposium | |
| “That was funny: humor for building trust, creativity, and fun” | 2023 |
| International Conference for Association for Experiential Education | |
| Mastering Science Communication: Insider Trips and Best Practices for Success | 2023 |
| Midwest Big Data Hub’s Data Science Student Groups Webinar Series | |
Humor and Science Workshop Wisconsin Institute for Discovery |
2023 |
Exercising Interpersonal Agility to Foster Belonging and Empathy Workshop Teaching and Learning Symposium |
2023 |
The Deeper than Data Media Story University of Wisconsin-Madison Podcasters Group |
2023 |
| “Podcasting in the classroom” Workshop | 2022 |
| American Physiological Association- Institute on Teaching and Learning | |
“Improv for Wild-lifers” The Wildlife Society Annual Conference |
2021 |
“Do financial incentives increase fruit and vegetable consumption and diet quality?” Catalyst for Science Policy, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2019 |
“Understanding multi-level linear modeling”, Infectious Disease Epidemiology Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University- Bloomington |
2015 |
“An introduction to meta-analyses”, Integrative Human Physiology, Department of Human Biology, Indiana University- Bloomington |
2014 |
| Peer Reviewed Conference Presentations | |
|---|---|
| “Predicting muscle function from body composition using machine learning” | 2024 |
| Research Bazaar, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
| "Utilizing Large Volume CT Data to Uncover Trends In Radiology Resource Utilization and Survival in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Patients” | 2024 |
| American Roentgen Ray Society, Boston, Massachusetts | |
| “Predicting muscle function from body composition using machine learning” | 2023 |
| Skeletal Muscle Symposium, University of Wisconsin, Madison | |
“Fat segmentation by deep learning-based model faster and preferred without reducing predictive capabilities” Midwest Machine Learning Symposium, Chicago, Illinois |
2023 |
“Determining Biomarkers of Myosteatosis for Sarcopenia and Cachexia Using MRI and Ultrasound” Experimental Biology Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
2022 |
“Establishing imaging biomarkers of myosteatosis” Skeletal Muscle Network Symposium, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2021 |
“Correcting for subcutaneous adipose tissue marginally improves the association between ultrasound echo intensity and magnetic resonance proton density fat fraction” International Conference for Frailty and Sarcopenia Research |
2021 |
“The combination of DXA and BIS to predict jump power” Annual Nutritional Sciences Poster Presentation, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2020 |
“Novel muscle measurement methods to improve muscle health assessment throughout the aging process” Colloquium on Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2019 |
“Validating the association between the DXA and BIS combination and physical function to improve the diagnosis of sarcopenia” Annual Nutritional Sciences Poster Presentation, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2019 |
“Orgasm as a function of sexual repertoire complexity and consistency” Society for the Scientific Study of Sex Annual Conference, Omaha, Nebraska |
2014 |
PRESS AND MEDIA FEATURES
| “Improv, AI and the mind of UW employee, comedian Ben Rush.” The Daily Cardinal, student newspaper at University of Wisconsin–Madison | 2025 |
|---|---|
| “Wisconsin Science Festival: Coming to backyards, living rooms and sites statewide Oct 21-24”. Madison365 | 2021 |
| “The Podcasters of CALS”. GROW Magazine, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences | 2021 |