What initially made you interested in Data Science?

I became interested in studying Data Science because I thought it would help me gain additional exposure to the domains of computer science and statistics. I felt gaining such experience would allow me to become more proficient in implementing custom analysis in my research and less dependent on publicly available tools and packages. It could also expose me to new approaches to mining large multifaceted datasets, help me understand a wide variety of statistical tests and their appropriate usages, and teach me to implement machine learning based approaches and develop new insights into visualizing multiple types of data in easy to understand formats.

What are your plans following the program?

As a current student in the  Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (MCB) graduate program here at Brown, my immediate plans are to incorporate the knowledge gained from the DSI program to aid in finishing my dissertation. Once I complete my doctoral program I hope to someday become a principal investigator in the disciplines of gene regulation and precision medicine.

What are the most important skills you received or experiences you had during the program?

The most important experiences/skills I gained from the program were a broadened knowledge of various statistical methods and their appropriate usage. As well as implementing and evaluating machine learning based approaches and learning how to efficiently mine large multidimensional datasets.