Morteza S
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Expertise

Biotech and bioengineering, writing papers (any type), Engineering (especially Mechanical & Biomedical), Medical Device, Physics, Data Science, Programming, Code writing, Machine Learning, Image Processing, Mathematics

Bio

Can we leverage AI, Robotics, and Engineering tools to make life easier for more than 95% of the world population who are living unhealthy lives? My passion centers on this goal by leveraging technology toward solving major scientific problems in healthcare and medicine. I finished my PhD in Mechanical Engineering at MIT with a focus on developing AI-optimized devices that can make treatment of diseases easier and more accessible to the patients. Previously, I did my Masters and Bachelors degrees both in Mechanical Engineering. I have published 38 scientific publications in notable journals and conferences, cited more than 600 times as of March 2024, in addition to one licensed US patent. I earned a graduate certificate in Business Analytics and another in Healthcare from MIT Sloan School of Management with a focus on application of AI to healthcare, as well as a graduate certificate in Medicine from Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. I am currently a Research Scientist at Gilead Sciences, a multinational pharmaceutical company in the California Bay Area. Prior to that, I was a research scientist at biotech companies namely SiO2 Medical Products, an advanced Materials Science company, and Syntis Bio. I joined Polygence in August 2022, and have ever since mentored over 15 research projects, led 2 Pods centered on AI, provided career advice to +50 high school students, provided publication support to +20 students, and regularly worked as judge/reviewer for the Polygence Symposium. My students have successfully published their research in top high school journals such as JSR. During my free time, I enjoy oil-painting, outdoor activities such as hiking, walking, and kayaking. I am also an avid fan of audiobooks, especially those related to psychology, neuroscience, physics, entrepreneurship and business. I love listening to music in a variety of genres, especially pop and R&B. Driving cars is also another hobby of mine. I have a passion for fast cars.

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.

A review article about areas for innovation in medical devices

The goal of this project is threefold: 1- Identify leading medical device technologies and their areas of application 2- Identify drawbacks and challenges these devices impose on patients 3- Brainstorm about ideas on how to improve the technologies or what additional features are necessary to be considered for next-generation of such devices. Result: expected results is a scientific article/magazine paper Reference for the submitted image: https://www.plasticstoday.com/medical/future-medical-materials-and-medtech-innovation

A code for measuring geometrical features of tumors

The goals of this project are as follows: 1- Learn how to do image analysis with program of choice (Python, ImageJ, or MATLAB or any other software of interest). 2- Drive geometrical feature of a tumors (diameter, density, sphericity, etc) from histology images 3- Use existing literature to classify if the tumor is benign or malignant. Result of this project is a code which can be used by doctors to help identify tumor diagnosis. Reference: https://www.healthtravellersworldwide.com/cancer-detection-techniques/

A survey on acceptability of vaccines among millennials

The goal of this project is to familiarize the student with the following skillsets: 1- How to design a survey based on a scientific question 2- How to identify the responders and expand outreach 3- How to analyze results of the survey. Results of this project can be published in a scientific magazine, LinkedIn article, or similar outlets. Reference for the image: https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/medical-survey-line-icon-hospital-patient-history-vector-23114522

Application of AI to clinical diagnosis and disease classification

AI has become an important tool in the classification of diseases and conditions in clinical settings. Machine learning algorithms can be trained on large datasets of patient data to recognize patterns and predict diagnoses with a high degree of accuracy. This allows healthcare professionals to make more informed decisions and provide more personalized treatment plans for their patients. AI can also be used to analyze medical records, laboratory results, and imaging data to identify risk factors for certain conditions or diseases, allowing clinicians to take proactive measures to prevent or mitigate potential health problems. Additionally, AI-powered clinical decision support systems can assist healthcare providers in making more accurate diagnoses and treatment recommendations, leading to better patient outcomes. In this project, we aim to accomplish two goals 1) develop a machine learning based algorithm for classification of disease based on existing patients' medical records, and 2) write a manuscript to summarize the results related to machine learning algorithm to be submitted to student journals in the field of Computer Science.

Coding skills

Python, MATLAB, R, JMP

Languages I know

Persian

Teaching experience

I have extensive experience at mentoring students (high school level up to graduate level students) through short-term and long-term (mostly) research projects. I joined Polygence in August 2022, and have ever since mentored over 15 research projects, led 2 classroom centered pods, provided career advice to +50 high school students, provided publication support to +20 students, and regularly worked as judge/reviewer for the Polygence Symposium. My students have successfully published their research in top high school journals such as JSR. Prior to Polygence, I have had the pleasure of mentoring more than 10 students in various steps of their careers, resulting in admittance to top schools or high-quality publications. During my master's study (2015-2017), I trained and mentored 4 graduate students and 2 undergraduates on wet lab skills. Some of the skillsets taught include writing manuscripts, running lab experiments, sampling liquid, basic safety considerations, measuring materials quantity (e. g. weight, mechanical properties, chemical properties, etc.). I further helped the graduates students to explore ideas and come up with a topic for their Master's Thesis. These students then proceeded to become top engineers or get admitted to top schools for graduate school in the US or Canada, namely Georgia Tech, McMaster University, University of Arizona, The University of British Columbia, etc. This mentorship also helped graduate mentees publish their results in notable journals including Nature Scientific Report, Materials Science & Engineering- PartC, etc. During my PhD/Post Doctoral studies at MIT (2017-2022), I have had the opportunity to mentor and train a total number of 6 undergraduates (mostly freshmen) from MIT (5/6) or Wellesley College (1/6). We have such strong connection and collaboration that, on average, each student stayed involved in a project for 1.5-2 years. Furthermore, I worked with 3 of these students for more than 2 years and currently working with two of them on an ongoing research project which started back in January 2019. We worked on a broad range of topics ranging from machine learning, programming, wet lab work, microfabrication, device fabrication, polymer chemistry, animal work, cancer research, data analysis, manuscript writing and review, etc. We managed to keep working on these projects even in view of COVID pandemic and its devastating effects on research resources. Results of these collaboration has led to two journal articles in top notch journal Science Advances (one in 2020 and another 2022) as well as two peer-reviewed conference papers. In fact, 5 out of 6 undergraduate mentees enjoyed authorship in these two articles, such that one undergraduate was named second author and the other two named co-third author. In summary, it has always been my utmost pleasure to work with students in any level of their career. I consider mentoring to be a two-sided learning experience and something that needs to be taken more seriously.

Credentials

Work experience

SiO2 Materials Science (2021 - Current)

Staff Scientist (R & D)

MIT (2021 - Current)

Post-doctoral researcher

Kheili Sabz Publication group, Tenran, Iran (2013 - 2017)

Author, scientific examiner & editor

Syntis Bio (Biotech startup) (2023 - 2023)

Scientist

Education

Iran University of Science and Technology Tehran

BS Bachelor of Science (2014)

Automotive Engineering

Sharif University of Technology

MS Master of Science (2017)

Mechanical Engineering (Bio-Nano technology and Design)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

PhD Doctor of Philosophy (2021)

Mechanical Engineering

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Morteza S - Research Program Mentor