Field of Interest

Plant biology! I have always loved spending time in nature and learning about plants, and throughout my time at Brown I've been able to dive into that interest through various courses and research opportunities. I also love learning about evolution and will talk about it with anyone who will listen.

How have your academic interests changed over the course of your time at Brown?

I came to Brown thinking that I would be a literary arts or environmental studies concentrator. I then realized that my passion for the environment is tied to biology and my love of nature, so I shifted to biology and have sought out classes and research that focus on conservation, preserving biological diversity, or using nature to try to mitigate the climate crisis. I also utilized the freedom of the Open Curriculum to take literary arts and comparative literature classes to fulfill my interest in creative writing. 

What drew you to pursue the Data Fluency Certificate?

After taking CS111 in my freshman spring, I realized that data fluency is extremely important in biological research and developing fluency through the program would be a big asset in my career. I enjoyed CS111, but didn't think that continuing with the computer science sequence would be right for me, so the certificate was a good middle ground. 

What has been your favorite course at Brown? 

Diversity of Life is one of my favorite courses at Brown. I took it in the fall of my first year and liked it so much that I went on to TA for the course every year since then. 

What kinds of research experiences have made an impact on your time at Brown?

I've spent the past three summers at three different universities doing plant science research with the help of the SPRINT and CHAI fellowships and the NSF REU program. During my freshman summer, I studied sunflowers and how they can be used to clean up sites contaminated with heavy metals. My sophomore summer, I studied how nitrogen and water interact in different plants and used photosynthetic capability as a measure of plant health. Last summer, I studied the impact of two genes on vascular differentiation in tomatoes to better understand plant grafting. 

My first biology research course, my sophomore spring, was the first of many tomato research projects I've participated in, and has tied in nicely to my thesis. That course also gave me a lot of wet lab skills that I've continued to use and master over the years. This year, I've been working on my thesis looking at tomato grafting from multiple perspectives and it has been very exciting, challenging, and gratifying to work on this research independently. 

I also did a project that made up the experiential component for my Data Fluency Certificate: examining people's perceptions of the health impacts of GMOs. I was able to walk through the entire process of social science research from writing an IRB proposal to deriving conclusions from my survey transcripts and putting them into context with my literature review. 

Throughout all my research experiences, I've learned a lot more about the research process and connected with really great mentors. 

Outside of the classroom or the lab, what has shaped your time at Brown?

One of my main extracurriculars is Gift of Life which is an organization that recruits people for the bone marrow registry. I have recruited over 200 students to join the registry and in the process of stopping busy students and asking them if they are interested in joining the registry, I've received a lot of nos. This experience has made me a lot more comfortable with walking up to strangers and starting a conversation and with facing rejection, an unavoidable part of life. 

I've also run a few fun events over the years related to breast cancer and childhood cancer awareness. 

My sophomore year and this year, I ran a Pink Shabbat where everyone showing up to Shabbat dinner was encouraged to wear pink, the menu was all pink, and there were speeches and resources about the importance of breast cancer awareness within the Jewish community. The best part of planning the event was designing giveaway stickers that capitalized on current campus trends (my sophomore year the sticker was a pink Blueno and this year it was a pink Birb). The other related events I ran were two hair donation drives last year. Across the two events, I managed to convince over fifteen people to let their friends cut off 8 or more inches of their hair to be made into wigs for children facing hair loss. At both events, someone decided to shave their head!

Who has inspired you throughout your degree? Is there anyone in particular that you’d like to thank, or advisors that you have had a particularly good relationship with? 

I would like to thank Professor Mark Johnson who has been an incredible professor and thesis advisor. He gave me the encouragement I needed to pursue my thesis, even while I wasn't following the standard timeline. His office hours were extremely helpful for his genetics and plant biology courses, and he also has helped me overcome the inevitable hiccups of research.

My siblings have been super supportive throughout my degree. They were always available, even very late at night, to give another pair of eyes to an essay. My sister always gave advice regarding course registration (especially freshman year when I couldn't register for a single course that I intended to take). My brother was always a phone call away for coding or math explanations. They also both served as inspirations for how to work hard while successfully making room for fun.  

What has been your favorite part of being a student at Brown?

Without a doubt, the best part about being a student at Brown is the culture and community on campus. Everyone is dedicated to their studies, but that doesn't stop anyone from being extremely kind and friendly, and always up for a last minute adventure. There's an amazing balance between the academic seriousness and taking advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of spending four years as a Brown University undergraduate. 

What advice would you give to incoming students?

I would encourage all students to take advantage of as many of the amazing opportunities on campus as they are interested in, but also to remember that they don't need to prove themselves to anyone. They should try to be as self-motivated as possible to get the most out of their time at Brown.

Fields of Interest

Fairness and accountability in machine learning

How have your academic interests changed over the course of your time at Brown?

My interests originated from a broad fascination with data-driven methods, and evolved into a passion for leveraging AI to address ethical issues regarding fairness and justice.

What drew you to these fields?

I am drawn to data science because of its foundational relevance across multiple disciplines. During my time at Brown, I wanted to build on the quantitative foundation established during my undergrad while engaging with the ethical considerations surrounding AI deployment. Working with the Center for Technological Responsibility, Re-imagination, and Redesign (CNTR) provided an ideal interdisciplinary research environment that matched this ambition to combine rigorous analytical approaches with socially responsible AI practices.

What has been your favorite course at Brown?

APMA 1690 (Computational Probability & Statistics) taught by Prof. Kun Meng

What experiences have made an impact on your time at Brown?

Participation with campus organizations like the Brown AI Safety Team (BAIST), Every Vote Counts (EVC), and Brown University Community Council (BUCC) has broadened my perspective on AI's societal implications and offered valuable opportunities to collaborate on diverse, impactful projects. 

I worked on other meaningful projects during my internships at Lightspeed Commerce and BRAC, where I deepened my technical expertise while grasping the ethical dimensions of real-world data science applications. 

Additionally, my research involvements with the CNTR and Watson Institute have strengthened my ability to deliver meaningful, data-driven insights within the context of responsible technological innovation. These multifaceted experiences will inform my approach to future research goals and professional challenges.

Who has inspired you throughout your degree?

I'd like to thank my thesis advisor, instructor, and SRC project collaborator, Prof. Suresh Venkatasubramanian, whose guidance and insights have been instrumental during my degree program. I'm also deeply grateful to Senior Fellow Malika Saada Saar, whose mentorship has profoundly shaped my approach to ethical AI.

What has been your favorite part of being a student at Brown?

I've valued the opportunity to engage with Brown's interdisciplinary community, which encourages collaboration across departments and allows students like myself to explore complex, real-world challenges from different perspectives.

What advice would you give to incoming students?

Be relentless about seeking opportunities outside the classroom.

What is next for you?

I'm excited to be joining TD Bank's Financial Crime Risk Management Department this summer as a full-time data scientist.

Fields of Interest

I'm particularly interested in data science applications to healthcare

What drew you to the field of data science?

I have always enjoyed statistics, and then I learned about data science, the intersection of computer science and statistics, during my junior spring in undergrad. I wanted to learn more about the field, which led me to pursue this degree.

What has been your favorite course at Brown? 

I think data engineering was the most interesting to me because it taught crucial skills of data scientists in industry. This course also touched upon the rapid evolution of data science tools and techniques in the tech industry which was also cool to learn about.

What research and extracurricular activities have shaped your experience at Brown?

This past summer, I was a Health Data Science Fellow at the School of Public Health, where I conducted a natural language processing project on reviews of healthcare facilities. This was my first time web scraping and dealing with textual data, which was invaluable and really interesting. 

Since the fall, I've been a data science intern at a biotech start-up in the Boston area, where I've been able to get hands-on industry experience with various tools and collaborate with engineers and clinicians. 

Lastly, I've been on the executive board of the Brown Graduate Muslim Student Association, which helped establish a great community and connect with people from entirely different academic domains.

What is next for you? 

I plan to transition from an intern to a full-time role as a clinical data scientist at my current workplace. I'm excited to grow professionally and apply what I've learned to improve healthcare!

Fields of Interest

I’m most interested in health equity, access, and challenging one-size-fits-all models of healthcare through digitalization. 

Why did you pursue the Data Fluency Certificate? 

The Data Fluency Certificate seemed like such a perfect opportunity to improve my hard skills in data science and analysis while focusing my interest still within the domains of biology and public health. The certificate also gave really great opportunities to apply our class knowledge to the real world, and I loved taking advantage of these experiential opportunities. 

What has been your favorite course at Brown? 

My favorite course at Brown has been BIOL 0940D Rhode Island Flora and Fauna: Understanding and Documenting Local Plant Diversity. In this class, we went on field trips to local coastal wetlands and uplands, freshwater wetlands, peatlands, upland forests, and disturbed areas—from there we collected plants and preserved them in lab, learned how to identify organisms based on their taxidermy, and developed intimate relationships with the natural landscape of Providence. 

How have your academic interests changed over the course of your time at Brown?

My interests have only been augmented as I’ve been at Brown, especially when it comes to understanding how data intersects with health ethics and inequity that arises as a result. Furthermore, getting to explore more areas in anthropology, archaeology, and creative nonfiction have become integral pillars to my interdisciplinary learning in really surprising ways. 

What research and extracurricular activities have shaped your experience at Brown?

I’ve been really lucky to have a multitude of experiences at Brown from being an Editor-in-Chief for VISIONS Magazine (Brown-RISD’s only AAPI literary and visual arts publication) to being a Minority Peer Counselor Co-Coordinator at the BCSC for two years. I’ve also had really awesome internship experiences doing clinical research work at Edwards Lifesciences and Intus Care, a Brown-student start-up that is doing amazing things now!

What has been your biggest challenge and your biggest accomplishment during your time in college?

I believe my biggest challenge since coming to college has actually been acclimating myself to the struggles that come with going to school so far away from home, since I’m from California, and dealing with things like homesickness, moving by myself, and not being able to see my family regularly. My biggest accomplishment was probably being recognized at the 2024 State of Rhode Island Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration.

Who has mentored you throughout your degree? 

Jennifer Pellowski was my professor for PHP 0700 and I also TA-ed her class—but she really instilled in me a clear vision of what a passion for global health surmounts to and her care for what she does is something I want to emulate. Additionally, Dr. Neil Sarkar and Dr. Therese Zink have been incredibly supportive in the process of writing my thesis, and they’ve definitely nuanced, complicated, and improved my work. 

What has been your favorite part of being a student at Brown?

Being a student at Brown is such a special experience because everybody has such a deep passion for what they are studying and holds a personal stake in the fields that they seek to enter. I love how learning is authentic and that my curiosity is constantly being inspired by the communities I’ve been privileged to enter here. 

What advice would you give to incoming students?

It becomes so easy to get swept up in our tasks, responsibilities, and everything else that comes with being a college student. Don’t let the speed of life overwhelm you—remember to take the scenic path, make calls instead of text, and enjoy the sun as much as you can.