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Jacklyn L

- Research Program Mentor

MS at Stanford University

Expertise

Using machine learning and computational tools to solve problems in biology and health; neurodegenerative diseases; psychology (including topics in learning, memory, perception, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, minds & machines, clinical & abnormal psychology)

Bio

Motivated by my family's experiences with dementia, I started college with the desire to help patients through research. With no prior research experience, I googled and cold emailed the first 20 professors doing anything brain related. Only 2 responded; one of whom required prior wet lab experience. That’s how I began working in a stem cell neurobiology lab during my second year of college. I spent two years running gels and pipetting until my hands cramped but it was well worth it. I researched the mechanisms that allowed skin cells to reprogram into functional neurons, which would pave the way for patients to use their own cells to repair damaged nervous tissue with minimal risk of rejection. I was excited for how my work could one day make a difference for patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I looked for ways to continue doing research remotely, and I discovered coding. I was astonished at how powerful a few lines of code could be for solving complex problems in biology and medicine. I was eager to learn more through a Master’s in Biomedical Informatics. In this program, I used computational techniques to improve patient outcomes. Through my experiences, I have pursued my passion for improving health using research and technology. I'm excited to help students discover and learn things that they are passionate about. Outside of academics, my hobbies include swimming and going on walks. Currently, I am learning the ukulele, and on occasion I love to binge Netflix.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Creating a computer model to predict Alzheimer' Disease from brain scans

Alzheimers’ Disease (AD) and related dementias are the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Marked by loss of memory, erratic behavior, and language problems, AD is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease; therefore, early detection is necessary to prevent and slow down disease progression. Clinical diagnosis often requires neuroimaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify physical biomarkers of AD; however, this process is often slow and inaccurate. Machine learning methods offer an opportunity to utilize large scale imaging datasets to quickly diagnose AD. In this project, you will (1) learn about the basic biology of the brain and what goes wrong in neurodegenerative diseases (2) explore the literature to understand current machine learning methods used to tackle this problem (3) construct your own machine learning models to predict AD in brain imaging scans

Coding skills

Python, R

Teaching experience

I have 5+ years of experience mentoring high school students through the college application process (including essay writing, building school lists, applying for financial aid & scholarships). In addition, I have taught computer science at the high school and undergraduate levels.

Credentials

Work experience

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (2021 - 2022)
Data Science Intern
Stanford School of Medicine (2021 - 2019)
Stem Cell Neurobiology Researcher

Education

Stanford University
BA Bachelor of Arts (2021)
Psychology
Stanford University
MS Master of Science (2022)
Biomedical Informatics

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