Jorge Fonseca
I'm a Computer Scientist
Research
Originally from Mexico City, Dr. Jorge Ramón Fonseca Cacho received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas in 2019. His research includes Artifical Intelligence, Data Analytics, NLP & OCR Post Processing,
Reproducible Research, and Augmented and Virtual Reality.
He integrates cutting-edge AI methodologies into biomedical research
and public health initiatives. His work primarily focuses on utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs)
to enhance the extraction and analysis of biomedical knowledge, particularly in the field of Alzheimer's disease research.
As part of a collaboration with Dr. Jeffrey Cummings (Department of Brain Health), Dr. Fonseca Cacho has developed an
advanced AI-driven pipeline to process vast amounts of scientific literature. Using Oceanus, a high-performance
computing cluster equipped with dual NVIDIA L40 GPUs, he deploys and fine-tunes models such as LLaMA to analyze
PubMed publications. This approach enables the identification of potential biomarkers, emerging treatment pathways,
and critical insights in neurodegenerative research.
Beyond biomedical AI, Dr. Fonseca Cacho collaborates with Dr. Edwin Oh (School of Medicine) on NV Empower,
a public health initiative that monitors COVID-19 and broader epidemiological trends through wastewater
analysis. While not strictly AI-based, the project employs computational modeling and dynamic mapping to
enhance real-time public health surveillance, providing actionable insights for health officials. He is actively
leading multiple app and web development projects as part of his App Development Team.
Through his research, Dr. Fonseca Cacho continues to push the boundaries of AI applications,
advancing data-driven discovery and decision-making in scientific and public health domains.
Assistant Professor & Faculty Senator
Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science.
Faculty Senator for the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering.
- YouTube Channel: youtube.com/LeSniperJF
- AppDev Website: appdev.cs.unlv.edu
- NV Empower Website: empower.unlv.edu
- AlzPipeline Website: alzpipeline.com
- Main Office Number:702-895-3681
- Office Phone: 702-895-4852
- Office Location: AEB 353
- Email: Jorge.FonsecaCacho@UNLV.edu
These links allow you to visit some of Doc's greatest hits on his Youtube channel along with several websites showcasing products of his research and app development. Should you have any questions or wish to reach out please do not hesitate to e-mail, call, or visit during office hours (latest hours posted on the door).
Ph.D. Students Advised as Committee Chair in CS. Gonna pump those numbers up to 4 soon!
Master's Students Supervised in Computer Science or Data Analytics guiding thesis research & capstone projects. (4 Graduated, 5 WIP).
Years of Teaching & Mentoring Experience at an R1 Research Institution (UNLV).
Different Courses Taught Computer Science, Data Analytics, and Cybersecurity programs.
📚 Publications
Check out some of the latest research work below or see the full updated list on Google Scholar 🔗.
- 📌 Drug Repurposing for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders: Cummings JL, Zhou Y, Van Stone A, Cammann D, Tonegawa-Kuji R, Fonseca J, Cheng F. (2025). Nature Communications 🔗.
- 🧠 Alzheimer's Disease Drug Development Pipeline: 2024: Cummings, J., Zhou, Y., Lee, G., Zhong, K., Fonseca Cacho, J.R., & Cheng, F. Alzheimer's & Dementia 🔗.
- 🧠 Alzheimer's Disease Drug Development Pipeline: 2023: Cummings, J., Zhou, Y., Lee, G., Zhong, K., Fonseca Cacho, J.R., & Cheng, F. Alzheimer's & Dementia 🔗.
- 📊 A Recommendation Model for Predicting Alzheimer’s Drugs’ Mechanism of Action: Nahed P., Kambar M.E.Z.N., Fonseca Cacho J.R., Lee G., Cummings J., Taghva K. (2023). Springer 🔗.
- 📢 The Role of Basket Trials in Drug Development for Neurodegenerative Disorders: Cummings, J., Montes, A., Kamboj, S., Fonseca Cacho, J.R. (2022). Alz Res Therapy 🔗.
- 🧠 Alzheimer's Disease Drug Development Pipeline: 2022: Cummings, J., Lee, G., Nahed, P., Kambar, M. E. Z. N., Zhong, K., Fonseca Cacho, J.R., & Taghva, K. Alzheimer's & Dementia 🔗.
- 📑 Clinical Text Classification of Alzheimer’s Drugs’ Mechanism of Action: Kambar M.E.Z.N., Nahed P., Fonseca Cacho J.R., Lee G., Cummings J., Taghva K. (2022). Springer 🔗.
- 🧠 Alzheimer's Disease Drug Development Pipeline: 2021: Cummings, J., Lee, G., Zhong, K., Fonseca, J., & Taghva, K. Alzheimer's & Dementia 🔗.
- 🛰️ OCR Enhanced Augmented Reality Indoor Navigation: Pivavaruk I., Fonseca Cacho J.R. (2022, December). IEEE AIVR 🔗.
- 🛠️ Building Wikipedia N-Grams with Apache Spark: Esmaeilzadeh, A., Fonseca Cacho J.R., Taghva, K., Kambar, M.E.Z.N., Hajiali, M. (2022). Springer 🔗.
- 🧠 Generating Correction Candidates for OCR Errors using BERT Language Model and FastText SubWord Embeddings: Hajiali M., Fonseca Cacho J.R., Taghva K. (2022). Springer 🔗.
- 🌐 Global Postal Automation: Vachon A., Ordonez L., Fonseca Cacho J.R. (2022). Springer 🔗.
- 🛠️ Building a Wikipedia N-GRAM Corpus: Fonseca Cacho, J.R., Cisneros B., Taghva K. (2021). Springer 🔗.
- 📖 OCR Post Processing Using Support Vector Machines: Fonseca Cacho, J.R., Taghva K. (2020). Springer 🔗.
- 📖 Aligning Ground Truth Text with OCR Degraded Text: Fonseca Cacho, J.R., Taghva K. (2019). Springer 🔗.
- 📊 Improving OCR Post Processing with Machine Learning Tools: Fonseca Cacho, J.R. (2019). UNLV Theses 🔗.
- 🛠️ Using the Google Web 1T 5-Gram Corpus for OCR Error Correction: Fonseca Cacho, J.R., Taghva K., Alvarez D. (2019). Springer 🔗.
- 📖 Board 250: Electrical and Computer Engineering Canvas Applications to Improve Fundamental Math Skills in Pre-Calculus Math: Neda, Monika, Batista, Jacimaria, Fonseca Cacho, Jorge, Vongkulluksn, Vanessa, Yang, Mei (2024). 🔗.
- 🎥 Video Homework: Visualizing Homework Assignments to Help Comprehension: Fonseca Cacho, Jorge Ramon (2023). UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo 🔗. 🏆 Distinguished Presenter Award
- 🤖 Automating UNLV's Computer Science Mentorship System: Aquino, Ivan Jasper, Lucci, Spencer, Fonseca Cacho, Jorge Ramon (2021). UNLV Symposium Posters 🔗.
- 📢 Improving Engagement of Online Learning with Live Lectures: Fonseca Cacho, Jorge Ramon (2021). UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo 🔗.
- 🎓 Using Discord to Improve Student Communication, Engagement, and Performance: Fonseca Cacho, Jorge Ramon (2020). UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo 🔗.
- 📚 Engaging Assignments Increase Performance: Fonseca Cacho, J.R. (2019). UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo 🔗.
- 📚 The State of Reproducible Research in Computer Science: Fonseca Cacho, J.R., Taghva K. (2020). Springer 🔗.
- 📖 Reproducible Research in Document Analysis and Recognition: Fonseca Cacho, J.R., Taghva K. (2018). Springer 🔗.
- 📷 Using Machine Learning to Process Filters and Mimic Instant Camera Effect: Chong D., Hanifzai J.F., Adam H., Garcia J., Fonseca Cacho J.R. (2021). Springer 🔗.
- ⚡ Decentralized Marketplace Using Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Swarm Technology: Fonseca Cacho, J.R., Dahal B., Kim Y. (2021). Springer 🔗.
🧠 Alzheimer's Disease & Neurodegenerative Research
🤖 OCR & NLP Research
🎓 Education & Pedagogy Research
📜 Reproducible Research
🔗 Blockchain & Other Research
Timeline and Latest Updates
Stay updated with the latest news from the desk of Doc.
Grant Funded Research
Alzheimer Drug Biomarker Observatory
2024 - 2029
Funding: Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
Role: Co-Investigator
PI: Jeffrey Cummings
Total Costs: $2,000,000
Alzheimer's Clinical Trial InnOvatioN (ACTION)
July 2021 - June 2025
Funding: National Institute of Health (NIH) AWD-02-00001597
Role: Co-Investigator
PI: Jeffrey Cummings
Total Costs: $3,000,000
Tracking High-Risk Substances in CCSD HS & Public Health Messaging
July 2023 - June 2025
Funding: University of Nevada, Reno Extension Grant AWD-02-00002275
Role: Co-Investigator
PI: Edwin Oh
Total Costs: $400,000
Promoviendo La Esperanza Equitativa: Advancing Equitable Teaching for Latinx CS Students
August 2023 - July 2026
Funding: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Role: Co-PI
PI: Kazem Taghva
Total Costs: $499,791
Improving STEM Student Fundamental Math Skills
October 2022 - September 2026
Funding: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Role: Senior Research Personnel
PI: Monika Neda
Total Costs: $1,199,758
Developing ULABS
2021 - 2022
Funding: CRRSAA
Role: PI
Total Costs: $60,000
Teaching & Service
Distinguished Service Award
February 2025
Received Distinguished Service Award for service in the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. This award is given to only 1 academic faculty in the college per year.
CS 789 Natural Language Processing & Optical Character Recognition
January 2025
New year, new course. First time teaching this brand new Graduate level course focusing on Natural Language Procesing, Optical Character Recognition, and Large Language Models.
Judge for Congressional App Challenge
Fall 2024
Served as Judge for the Congressional App Challenge (First NV Congressional District, Dina Titus).
President's Interdisciplinary Research Challenge Recipient
2024
The team received an award for Developing a Center for Biomedical Research Excellence on Wastewater Intelligence and establishing a UNLV Student Training Institute. Read more on the official announcement here 🔗 .
Tenure Track Role Change
July 2024
After a national search, Dr. Fonseca was selected to be the newest member of the tenure-track faculty in the Department of Computer Science. College of Engineering, UNLV. Begun, the tenure clock has...
Faculty-in-Residence Assistant Professor
July 2019- July 2024
For 5 years Dr. Fonseca was an Assistant Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, UNLV.
Visiting Lecturer
July 2018- July 2019
Dr. Fonseca served as a Visiting Lecturer during the last year of his Ph.D
in the Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, UNLV.
Projects
Dr. Fonseca has led and supervised multiple software development projects, spanning
web applications, mobile apps, augmented reality, AI simulations, and public health technology.
Many of these projects have been funded by government agencies, university programs, or research grants.
💻 Web & Application Development
- Leader of the UNLV App Development Team – Overseeing the creation of innovative applications for research, education, and community engagement. 🔗 Visit AppDev Website
- COVID-19 & Recreational Drug Wastewater Monitoring Website – Developed the Nevada Empower Program website to track community wastewater data. 🔗 Visit Nevada Empower
- Alzheimer's Clinical Observatory – Created an online platform to track and analyze Alzheimer’s drug development progress in collaboration with Department of Brain Health and Cleveland Clinic. 🔗 Visit AlzPipeline
- Alzheimer's Biomarker Observatory – Creating an AI to track and analyze Alzheimer’s Biomarkers in collaboration with Department of Brain Health and Cleveland Clinic.
📱 Mobile & AR Applications
- Augmented Reality Navigation – Developed an AR-powered app to assist students in navigating university buildings.
- ULAB – Supervised the creation of an app for lab scheduling and faculty meetings, used by the College of Engineering during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also developed the ULAB website for additional functionality.
- Nevada Showcase App – Led a project funded by UNLV’s Office of Economic Development to promote student and faculty research projects to entrepreneurs.
- Walk2School2Day – Supervised an app funded by the Nevada Department of Transportation to encourage healthy commuting habits for K-12 students.
🎮 AI & Game Development
- Drone Simulation & AI Aided Navigation – Currently developing an AI to navigate using camera data instead of GPS.
Educating the next generation of computer scientist
What good is knowledge if one does not pass it on? Dr. Fonseca strongly believes that the key to the success does
not lie in a single person, and therefore the only way we advance as a society is by working together -
not just across the world, but across time. The only way to achieve this is to pass knowledge to the next
generations. In addition to performing research with both graduate and undergraduate students, Dr. Fonseca
takes teaching very seriously and teaches a large variety of courses at UNLV. Since 2020 he has been recording
and posting publicly, and freely, all of his lectures on
YouTube and
intends to continue this practice for all
new courses. Even after going back to the classroom, he has pushed technology forward on what a class livestream can be.
He embraces the power of technology when teaching and has presented at UNLV Teaching Expo 'Using Discord to Improve Student
Communication, Engagement, and Performance' for which he has been contacted and mentioned in various universities worldwide.
A conference where he has won the Distinguished Poster Presenter Award at Best Teaching Practices Expo 2023.
He also believes that Engaging assignments are key to success in programming and typically will try and make the coolest,
albeit hard, assignments possible! Typically based on pop-culture at the time of creation.
Dr. Fonseca has taught a wide range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels across
Computer Science (CS), Data Analytics (DA), Cybersecurity (CSEC).
🎓 Courses Taught
- CS 115 – Introduction to Computers
- CS 135 – Computer Science I (C++ Programming)
- CS 140 – Python (Co-taught with a graduate student)
- CS 202 – Computer Science II
- CS 219 – Computer Organization
- CS 301 – Social Implications of Computer Technology
- CS 302 – Data Structures
- CS 442/642 – Cloud Computing
- CS 449 – Computer and Network Forensics (Assisted due to COVID-19)
- CS 490/690 – Independent Study (Mentored students on varied topics)
- CS 789 – Natural Language Processing & Optical Character Recognition
- ITE 451/651 – Managing Big Data and Web Databases
- DA 621 – Programming for Data Analytics I
- DA 622 – Programming for Data Analytics II
- DA 790 – Data Analytics Capstone
- CSEC 700 – Security Operations
- MySQL Summer Course – Taught for Nevada Gaming Commission
🛠️ Courses Developed
- CSEC 700 – Security Operations (Linux, Python, and cybersecurity tools)
- DA 621 – Programming for Data Analytics I (Python for Machine Learning)
- DA 622 – Data Analytics II (Scraping & Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn)
- DA 651 – Managing Big Data and Web Databases
- DA 790 – Data Analytics Capstone
- CS 442/CS 642 – Cloud Computing
- CS 789 – Natural Language Processing & Optical Character Recognition
Service: The Heart of Shared Governance
Dr. Fonseca has been deeply committed to service and shared governance at UNLV, starting as a graduate student representative and continuing as
a faculty leader shaping policies at the departmental, college, and university levels. His leadership extends across faculty governance,
student advocacy, committee work, and recruitment efforts.
Dr. Fonseca's strong history of service to UNLV began when he was still a graduate student and became the College of Engineering's Graduate Professional
Student Association (GPSA) representative. There he also served on the GPSA Bylaws committee, and the GPSA Sponsorship committee where he disbursed
thousands of dollars to help our students travel to conferences and publish their research; however, his service was not limited to just the university,
as he also served as the student representative for the computer science (CS) department in the college's Differential Fees Committee.
When Dr. Fonseca was hired as an academic faculty member, he immediately committed to serving the college by serving in the Differential Fees Committee
as the computer science department faculty representative where he continues to serve today. He then began by serving the university as a member of the
Faculty Leave (sabbatical) committee from 2020-2022. In 2021, he was elected Faculty Senate representative for the College of Engineering and was
re-elected in 2024 where he continues to serve. In 2024, he was also elected as member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, a very important position
served by very few faculty members and where he has a direct impact on the direction of UNLV as a whole. He also serves presently in the
University Workload committee where he is updating the workload policy for the university, he is also in the AI Task Force where he has developed
guidelines to deal with Generative AI along with several panels and workshops, and he is a member of the Teaching and Learning Commons General Council.
His service to his home department has included being in the Infrastructure and Systems Oversight Committee, and as current member of the computer
science bylaws committee, and as chair of a search committee for Three Faculty-In-Residence positions for CS. He has also been a member of 2 other
Search Committees for Faculty-In-Residence positions (1 Cybersecurity/Engineering, 1 CS) and has been a member of one tenure track CS search committee and has been member
of one postdoc and one system admin search committee. All of these in the span of 2022-2025. He has also served in a search committee for a research
coordinator for the department of brain health. All searches have resulted in hires.
Dr. Fonseca also serves his students by being faculty advisor of the UNLV Crypto Club and the UNLV AI & Data Science Club. He served from 2020-2025 as
Undergraduate Coordinator for all CS 202 courses (usually 7 per semester with hundreds of students). In this role he increased retention efforts greatly.
He has participated in multiple undergraduate recruitment efforts including attending high schools to promote the UNLV CS program, and has led several
workshops and panels with graduate, undergraduate, and external audiences along with providing outreach opportunities with external companies.
🏛️ Leadership in Faculty Governance
- Faculty Senate Representative (2021-Present) – Elected for two terms to represent the College of Engineering.
- Faculty Senate Executive Committee (2024-Present) – High-impact role influencing university-wide decisions.
- University Workload Committee (2023-Present) – Shaping the workload policy for all faculty.
- AI Task Force Member (2023-Present) – Developing Generative AI guidelines and leading panels/workshops.
- Faculty Leave (Sabbatical) Committee (2020-2022)
- Teaching and Learning Commons General Council (2023-Present)
📌 Departmental & College-Level Service
- Differential Fees Committee (2018-Present)
- Computer Science Bylaws Committee (2024-Present)
- Infrastructure & Systems Oversight Committee (2023-2024)
- Chair, Faculty Search Committee (2025) – Led the hiring process for three Faculty-in-Residence CS positions.
- Member, Multiple Search Committees (2022-2025) – Helped recruit tenure-track, faculty-in-residence, postdoc, system admin, and research coordinator positions.
🎓 Student Advocacy & Community Engagement
- Faculty Advisor for UNLV Crypto Club & AI & Data Science Club.
- CS 202 Undergraduate Coordinator (2020-2025) – Oversaw 7 sections per semester with hundreds of students, increasing retention efforts.
- High School & Undergraduate Recruitment – Attended multiple high schools to promote the UNLV CS program.
- Workshops & Panels – Organized and led sessions for graduate, undergraduate, and industry audiences.
- External Outreach – Connected students with industry partners and career opportunities.
🏆 Dr. Fonseca was honored with the 2025 Distinguished Service Award by the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering, recognizing his exceptional contributions to faculty governance, student mentorship, and university service.
Meet the Team
These are the students Dr. Fonseca has mentor, advise, or work with on research, development, and projects. (Past and Present)
Want to join? Get Motivated and Reach out today for opportunties available!
🎓 Ph.D. Students
Jesse Ortega
Ph.D. Student, Computer Science
Gaurab Subedi
Ph.D. Student, Computer Science
🎓 Graduate Students (M.S.)
Richard Young
M.S. Data Analytics
Parkinson’s Disease Clinical Trials Observatory.
Mihail Mihaylov
M.S. Data Analytics
Dense Residual Connections in Generative Adversarial Networks.
Edgar Manzanarez
M.S. Data Analytics
Optimizing Repair Services via ML in Reverse Logistics.
Shubham Kolase
M.S. Data Analytics
Automated Web Scraping for Alzheimer’s Research.
Cristina Valeria Aguaiza
M.S. Data Analytics
Adapting machine learning techniques to analyze photogrammetry data from coral colonies in the Great Barrier Reef.
Spencer Thornhill
M.S. Data Analytics
Finding predictors for California wildfires using data science techniques and ArcGIS Mapping software.
Monica Cordova-Medina
M.S. Data Analytics
FAFSA and its impact on Low-Income Student Enrollment
Darshan Pravinbhai
M.S. Data Analytics
Leveraging Data Science and AI for Predictive Analytics and Business Intelligence
Matteo Thibodeaux
M.S. Data Analytics
Automated Web Scraping for Alzheimer’s Research.
Steven Leng
M.S. Data Analytics
Web Scraping with Large Language Models
Sammra Wahid
M.S. Data Analytics
Predicting Enplane and Deplane in Las Vegas until 2045
Nima Faraji
M.S. Computer Science
Extracting Drug & Chemical Interactions via ML.
🎓 Undergraduate Students
Abreham T. Tadesse
Undergraduate, CS
Alzheimer's Disease Biomarker Observatory LLM Builder
Tyler Engelke
Undergraduate, CS
Alzheimer's Disease Biomarker Observatory LLM Fine Tuning
Hassan Adam
Undergraduate, CS
Using Machine Learning to Process Filters and Mimic Instant Camera Effect.
Deirdre Chong
Undergraduate, CS
Using Machine Learning to Process Filters and Mimic Instant Camera Effect.
Jorge Garcia
Undergraduate, CS
Using Machine Learning to Process Filters and Mimic Instant Camera Effect.
Vanessa Nava-Camal
Undergraduate, CS
Augmented Reality
Keith Daniel Tan
Undergraduate, CS
DroneAI
MacGyver Codilla
Undergraduate, CS
DroneAI
Kay Crapoff
Undergraduate, CS
DroneAI
Dat Nguyen
Undergraduate, CS
Transferred-Learning Intrusion Detection System for Internet of Vehicles
Ilya Pivavaruk
Undergraduate, CS
AR Navigation App
Ivan Aquino
Undergraduate, CS
Automating UNLV's Computer Science Mentorship System
Spencer Lucci
Undergraduate, CS
Automating UNLV's Computer Science Mentorship System
Jiaqi Li
Undergraduate, CS
ULABS App
Contact
For professional inquiries, research collaborations, consulting opportunities, or student advising, please use the contact details below.
Mailing Address
Dr. Jorge Fonseca Cacho
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Box 454019
Las Vegas, NV 89154
USA
Call
(702)-895-4852
Jorge.FonsecaCacho@UNLV.edu
AppDev@UNLV.edu
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