Education
- B.S. in Michigan State University,2020
- M.S. in University of Southern California, 2022
Research experience
Staff Research Associate III — Moores Cancer Center, UCSD Health
06/2022 – 10/2023 San Diego, CA
● Independently conducted clinical research in urological oncology, specializing in testicular germ cell cancer.
● Bioinformatics Analysis: Performed DNA/RNA seq analysis using tools such as cufflinks, TopHat, STAR, GATK, SAMtools, bwa, bowtie, and Mpileup.
● Molecular Biology Skills: Hands-on experience in managing DNA/RNA extraction and quality control from serum, frozen blood, and FFPE samples. Conducted PCR and qPCR assays for gene expression analysis and nucleic acid quantification.
● Lab Management: As Lab Manager, established an entirely new lab from scratch within a 6-month period, overseeing all lab affairs, including equipment procurement, financial accounting, record keeping and inventory control.
Graduate Researcher – Quantitative and Computational Biology Department, USC
07/2020 – 05/2022 Los Angeles, CA
● Data Analysis: Employed 64 cores on USC’s HPC servers to manage structure-based screening for ligands of GPCR, with an expansive 11-billion-molecule dataset. Leveraged Linux and open-source batch processing techniques.
● Computational Modeling: Conducted 4D flexible protein docking through ICM-Pro, a C++-based software, interfacing via both Linux command line and UI tools for enhanced molecular modeling capabilities.
Research Intern – Scripps Translational Science Institute
06/2021 – 12/2021 La Jolla, CA
● Investigated the relationship between BMI and LDL cholesterol through statistical modeling and machine learning.
● Genomic Data Analysis: Wrote Python code to perform a Genome-Wide Association Study on 1.5TB of UK Biobank data using linear mixed models to identify common genetic variants that modulate the cholesterol-BMI relationship. Performed gene-set analysis and tissue expression analysis via FUMA-GWAS.
● Data Quality Control & Feature Engineering: Conducted quality control and feature engineering on UK Biobank data using specialized tools like PLINK2 and QCtool.
● Machine Learning: Implemented ML models such as Generalized Additive Models, ElasticNet, and XGBoost in R
Genomic Analyst – ArrayGen
02/2021 – 05/2021 Los Angeles, CA
● RNA-Seq Data Analysis: Conducted in-depth analysis of target sample databases, focusing on Gene Expression Quantification and Differential Expression Analysis. Undertook Pathway Network Analysis and Gene Ontology Enrichment Analysis, utilizing tools such as Cytoscape, KEGG, and GSEA
Research Assistant – Department of Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University
09/2019 – 06/2020 East Lansing, MI
● Protein Library Design: Used Rosetta to design a high-binding affinity protein library. Evolved strong binders with high specificity using a strategic collection of small, stable protein scaffolds.
● Affibody Interface Research: Researched affibody interface mutation design, identifying positions and amino acids to optimize binding properties.Research Assistant – Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University 05/2016 – 05/2019 East Lansing, MI
Research Assistant – Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Michigan State University
● Molecular Biology Skills: Conducted immunostaining such as H&E staining and Trichrome staining. Detected estrus stages under the microscope and performed immunofluorescence quantitative analysis for mammary gland tumor samples.
● Animal Care and Experiments: Managed care for BALB/c mice, including feeding, palpation, setting up new cages, and daily monitoring of weaning cages. Performed Brdu injection. Performed general surgeries on the mammary gland of BALB/c mice, adhering to ethical guidelines and surgical protocol
Skills
Programming: Python, Matlab, R, Shell scripting, Linux
Software & Tools: Pymol, MetaMorph, Rosetta, Aspen, Molsoft-ICM, NGS pipeline, FUMA-GWAS
Data: MySQL, Excel, HPC
Lab Techniques: PCR, qPCR, RT-PCR, NGS, Gel Electrophoresis, Immunostaining (IHC), General Surgery on Mice