I’m a Ph.D. student studying Biomedical Data Science (BDS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I have a research assistantship with the Lu lab, studying human genetics. During my masters degrees in Computer Science (CS) and BDS, I worked in research labs at the intersection of molecular biology and computation. First, I worked with the Lang lab to study the epigenetics of ovarian cancer. Epigenetics focuses on mechanisms controlling gene expression rather than the genetic code itself. I worked on a project integrating several types of epigenetic data, with the goal of better understanding epigenetic factors in the development of medication resistance in ovarian cancer cell lines. Subsequently, I worked with the Roy lab, developing a tool to integrate single-cell RNA sequencing data across species. This is a difficult problem because the gene sets in each species are distinct, with gene duplications and losses during evolution creating a complex orthology of genes across species.

Broadly, I’m interested in computational approaches to understanding biological datasets, particularly those with applications in medicine. I have had a long-standing interest in working in or alongside healthcare. During my graduate studies, I began re-exploring that interest through Madison Emergency Physicians, where I was employed part time as a medical scribe, shadowing the emergency department physicians and assisting with clinical documentation. Although computer science may seem like an excursion from this interest, it offers an extremely useful framework to approach biological and medical research questions. Computational approaches allow us to make meaning out of datasets that would otherwise be indecipherable due to their size and high dimensionality. I am excited to be a part of the interdisciplinary development of computational approaches to biological questions for two reasons: (1) I find the statistical and computational backdrop to these approaches fascinating, and (2) I appreciate the wide variety of biological and medical applications to which I can bring computational expertise.

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California, where I majored in computer science and minored in English, focusing on creative writing. It seems like an odd combination at first glance. However, my English coursework has contributed to my ability to communicate technical concepts, both verbally and in writing. I found these skills particularly useful while TAing introductory CS courses as an undergrad and during my first year of graduate school at UW-Madison.

Outside of academics, I enjoy staying active. In undergrad, I played on USC’s club ultimate frisbee team, and I raced with the triathlon team. I also love hiking and backpacking, serving as a guide for USC’s outdoor club. Now that I’ve moved to the midwest, I joined a queer hockey league and have been having a blast learning to play hockey. I’ve particularly enjoyed playing in several of the Team Trans tournaments hosted in Madison, where we’ve formed teams of entirely transgender hockey players from around the country. I also enjoy playing piano and spending time with my pets.

I’m excited to see where I end up after graduate school. I hope to keep learning, mentoring, contributing to medicine, and engaging with my community.