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Krti T

- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Stanford University

Expertise

Climate sciences, marine ecology, environmental disease ecology, career mentorship, college mentorship, animal behavior, creative writing, financial success, Python, Java, R Studio, Google Earth Engine, Java, Start-ups for social good, and public speaking & leadership.

Bio

Doctor of Philosophy, Stanford University, Climate & AI Bachelor of Science, UIUC, Statistics Bachelor of Science, UIUC, Environmental Science Bachelor of Science, UIUC, Computer Science

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.

Dams and Disease: An Ecological Solution to Schistosomiasis in Senegal

This case study is about the effects dam building and land use change have had on schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease, in the Senegal River Basin in West Africa. Construction of the Diama Dam at the mouth of the Senegal River was intended to bring various human health and economic benefits. While there were some positive impacts, the dam also had unintended consequences. For one, it affected the life cycle of a native river prawn, hindering its essential migration to the mixed fresh and saltwater estuary near the Atlantic Ocean. An important predator in the river ecosystem, the local extinction of prawns led to an upstream explosion in the snail species that serve as a reservoir for schistosomiasis. Disease rates spiked and schistosomiasis has been endemic in Senegal since the dam was completed in 1986. As similar human infrastructure projects are proposed worldwide, it is key to understand the effect these developments could have not only on the environment but also on human health. Past interventions addressing schistosomiasis have focused on the distribution of therapeutic drugs. These campaigns have been unsuccessful in countries like Senegal. One reason is because they fail to consider how social, ecological, economic, cultural, and health access factors affect the transmission of disease. We will work to figure out how we can be mindful of these complexities and the original ecosystem balance that kept snail populations in check. We will propose a method for reintroduction of the native prawn species as an ecological intervention to complement drug therapy. This intervention has been found to reduce schistosomiasis rates and, if successful and sustainable, could provide food and livelihood security for people living in the Senegal River Basin.

Coding skills

RStudio, R Markdown, Javascript, Java, GitHub, Python, Overleaf, LaTex, Version Control, Sublime Text, PHP, CSS, HTML, WordPress, SquareSpace, Wix, Visual Studio Code

Languages I know

Sanskrit, Hindi

Teaching experience

These are the following guest lectures I have given this last year: Systems Modeling and Systems Thinking to ENVS 340: Guest Lecturer at Oberlin College; Udall Foundation Panelist: Collaboration within Public Health and Environmental Justice; GitHub & Git Demonstration to BIO 202: Ecological Statistics, Stanford University; Introduction to Machine Learning to Giulio De Leo Laboratory, Stanford University; Basic Structural Equation Modeling to BIO 202: Ecological Statistics, Stanford University; Advanced Structural Equation Modeling to BIO 202: Ecological Statistics, Stanford University. These are the following longer-term teaching experiences I have had: Teaching Assistant | Stanford University: Ecology Course with 30 students; Teaching Assistant | GITAM University: Led a machine learning project for Master’s in Business Administration students in the FinTech Academy; SAT Math Teacher | Excel Test Prep: Individually taught SAT Math lessons to groups of up to 80 high school students; Teaching Assistant | Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois: STAT 200 & 212: proctor exams, hold office hours, grade 40-60 papers per week; Spanish Tutor | Ohlone Community College: Tutored students ages 18 and older in Levels 1-4.

Credentials

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC)
BS Bachelor of Science (2019)
Computational Environmental Biology
Stanford University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Computational Environmental Biology + AI

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