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2022-2024

  • Saswata Dasgupta

    Saswata Dasgupta

    Saswata Dasgupta is a postdoctoral researcher in Chemistry and Biochemistry, having received his PhD in theoretical chemistry at the Ohio State University. He focuses on developing, implementing, and applying an AI-driven computational platform for the discovery and optimization of porous materials capable of capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting it into relevant chemicals. Dr. Dasgupta's STEM Mentor is Francesco Paesani and his AI Co-Mentor is Julian McAuley.
  • Beverly French

    Beverly French

    Beverly French received her PhD in Marine Biology at UC San Diego and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. For her postdoctoral work, she uses minimally invasive sampling in combination with large-area imaging to assess the adaptive potentials of corals to a changing ocean. Using machine learning and AI-driven approaches to statistical analysis of genetic sequencing data and the automated segmentation and annotation of coral colonies, Beverly’s work will illuminate the mechanisms of coral environmental resilience in response to climate change. Dr. French's STEM Mentor is  Stuart Sandin and her AI Co-Mentor is  Jelena Bradic.
  • Jessica Kendall-Bar

    Jessica Kendall-Bar

    Dr. Jessica Kendall-Bar was a 2023-2024 AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellow at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Her research combines engineering, data science, ecology, and visualization to measure behavior and physiology of marine animals amidst a changing climate. For her dissertation, she developed a non-invasive system to record and visualize the first recordings of marine mammal sleep at sea published in Science. She is an award-winning scientist, artist, and science communicator who designs data visualization courses, large-scale exhibits, immersive analytical tools, and decision support tools. Her data visualizations, published in local news outlets, The New York Times and The Atlantic, have informed international policy in domains ranging from marine mammal conservation to coral reef restoration.
  • Stephanie Khuu

    Stephanie Khuu

    Stephanie Khuu is a post-doctoral researcher in the Bioengineering department. She completed her PhD in bioengineering from the University of Auckland, and is interested in computational biology and skeletal muscle physiology. Her current project focuses on mechanobiological modeling of skeletal muscle repair and regeneration. Using novel applications of physics-guided deep learning to systems biology, she aims to discover new pathways, molecular interactions, and cell-cell interaction rules that mediate the transition of tissue states in response to exercise. Dr. Khuu's STEM Mentor is  Andrew McCulloch and her AI Co-Mentor is  Rose Yu.
  • Tsz Wai Ko

    Tsz Wai Ko

    Tsz Wai Ko obtained his PhD in theoretical chemistry at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, and is a postdoctoral researcher in NanoEngineering. His work as a Schmidt AI in Science Postdoc integrates physics, chemistry, and engineering methods to develop a novel machine learning tool that will accelerate the screening of potential candidates for next-generation rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. His ultimate goal is to accelerate the discovery of an energy storage technology that promises to both be safer and achieve better capacity than traditional lithium-ion batteries. Dr. Wai Ko's STEM Mentor is  Shyue Ping Ong and his AI Co-Mentor is  Rose Yu.
  • Neeraj Lal

    Neeraj Lal

    Neeraj Lal completed his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California, Davis. He is a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Endocrinology and is working to develop machine learning algorithms to understand the relationship between metabolism, neuronal activity and animal behavior, with the ultimate goal of finding new drug targets for metabolic ailments. Dr. Lal's STEM Mentor is  Alan Saltiel and his AI Co-Mentor is  Mikhail Belkin.
  • Phuong Le

    Phuong Le

    Phuong Le received her PhD in nanotechnology and single-molecule imaging from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a postdoctoral scholar at UC San Diego, she is working to apply machine learning and decipher the rules of RNA localization in motor neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells for application in RNA drug design. Dr. Le's STEM Mentor is  Gene Yeo and her AI Co-Mentor is  Alon Orlitsky. 
  • Melissa Quinnan

    Melissa Quinnan

    Melissa Quinnan is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics, having received her Ph.D in physics at UC Santa Barbara. She works with the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider; her research interests include applying deep learning tools to experimental particle physics searches and measurements and hardware-accelerated fast machine learning for CMS detector triggers. For her postdoctoral fellowship, she plans to develop and deploy a real-time anomaly detection algorithm in the CMS trigger using deep learning in field programmable gate arrays. Dr. Quinnan's STEM Mentor is Javier Duarte and her AI Co-Mentor is Gal Mishne.
  • Lauren Severance

    Lauren Severance

    Lauren Severance is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Bioengineering, where she also obtained her PhD. Her project focuses on developing a novel method for estimating personalized risk of stroke by using AI techniques in conjunction with 4-dimensional image data, with the aim of improving stroke risk stratification and guiding anticoagulation therapy decisions for patients with atrial fibrillation. Dr. Severance's STEM Mentor is Elliot McVeigh and her AI Co-Mentor is Mai Nguyen.
  • William (Jake) Wright

    William (Jake) Wright

    William (Jake) Wright earned his PhD in neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh. As a postdoctoral scholar in Neurobiology, Jake is utilizing cutting-edge imaging methods and optical tools to investigate how dynamic activity patterns drive the modification of synaptic connections over the course of learning to reorganize brain function and ultimately determine behavioral adaptation. Specifically, his research will illuminate how the relationship between circuit and synaptic function serves to direct plasticity and reshape brain function over the course of learning. Dr. Wright's STEM Mentor is  Takaki Komiyama and his AI Co-Mentor is  Piya Pal.