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Ph.D. in Computational and Systems Biology

B.A., summa cum laude, in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Physics

• GPA: 4.00/4.00
• Relevant Coursework: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Organic Chemistry, Statistical Mechanics, Analytical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, Physical Networks, Machine Learning, Large-Scale Optimization, Probability Theory, Differential Geometry, Differential Equations, Complex Analysis, Real Analysis

Undergraduate Researcher at the Arjun Raj Lab

• Created Piscis, an automatic deep learning algorithm for spot detection in RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) images. Significantly outperformed existing computational methods.
• Mentored a high school researcher on deep learning and writing Python functions for data preprocessing.
• Contributed to NimbusImage, a web platform for biological image analysis that empowers researchers to visualize their data interactively while leveraging state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms.
• Deployed NimbusImage via Docker on Linux servers in both the Raj Lab and Shaffer Lab.

Undergraduate Researcher at the Sydney Shaffer Lab

• Investigated the molecular origins of Barrett's esophagus by analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data of patient samples in R. Discovered a rare subpopulation of ciliated cells expressing fetal intestinal genes.
• Created Cellori, a fast and robust algorithm for nuclei segmentation in fluorescence microscopy images.
• Created DeepTile, a Python library that splits large images into smaller tiles, processes each tile, and stitches together the outputs, allowing functions to scale up to arbitrary input image sizes.

• Hertz Foundation Fellowship
• PD Soros Fellowship for New Americans
• DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF)
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) — declined
• Penn Arts and Sciences Dean's Scholar
• Penn Physics and Astronomy William E. Stephens Memorial Prize
• Phi Beta Kappa

• Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

• Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Challenge Award

• Roy and Diana Vagelos Scholar

Teaching Assistant

• Graduate-level electrical engineering (ESE) course at Penn on measure-theoretic probability theory.
• Hosted two 1.5-hour office hours each week to guide students through assignments and recitations to review and practice important mathematical concepts.

Workshop Leader

• Program coordinated by Penn's Weingarten Learning Resources Center for organic chemistry students.
• Developed lesson plans and facilitated weekly two-hour workshop sessions to help students reinforce and apply concepts learned from lectures to solve challenging organic chemistry problems.
• Over 200 students attended my workshops.

Co-founder, Co-president

• Initiative with the mission of spreading awareness and building confidence among Penn undergraduates for effective science communication.
• Hosted the Lucid Science Challenge, a research proposal competition based on the National Science Foundation's grant review process, providing a platform for undergraduates to practice adapting their science communication to a new audience.
• Invited seven Penn professors and an industry scientist and executive from Ginkgo Bioworks to serve on our competition judging panels. Raised over \$1,000 from sponsorships to fund prizes and merch.
• Hosted a science communication workshop series, covering topics such as audience identification and scientific storytelling.

Operations Committee, Event Supervisor, Urban Initiative Fellow

• One of the most competitive Science Olympiad Invitational Tournaments with over 750 high schoolers participating annually.
• Organized virtual social and Penn student panel events for the 2021 and 2022 tournaments.
• Wrote and proctored exams for the Chemistry Lab (2021) and Codebusters (2022, 2023, 2024) events.
• Mentored high schoolers from underserved Philadelphia high schools on their Science Olympiad events.

Vice President of Community Outreach

• Organization to promote the appreciation of chemistry within Penn and the Philadelphia community.
• Hosted a mixer event combining liquid nitrogen ice cream-making with a student research poster session.
• Launched a community outreach initiative to share the fun of chemistry and its everyday relevance with students from underserved schools. Conducted a successful pilot at Parkway West High School.

Co-Founder, Director, Head Problem Writer

• Math competition for elementary students in the fourth and fifth grades.
• Proposed over 300 problems. Managed weekly team meetings. Helped with venue coordination. Fostered relationships with elementary schools. Hosted over 250 participants and 50 teams from 2016 to 2020.

Summer School Student

• Summer school offered by Princeton University's Center for the Physics of Biological Function, targeting advanced undergraduates interested in biological physics.
• One of 24 students chosen by application to attend two weeks of lectures, problem sessions, and hands-on experiments to build an understanding of how physical principles give rise to biological phenomena.