I currently work as a Medical Assistant in Dr. Christopher Chu's cardiology clinic. Through this position, I'm able to utilize problem-solving skills to ensure smooth flow of patients in an organized and efficient manner while also focusing on the satisfaction of the patients. As a medical assistant, my job include taking the vitals of patients, conducting new patient intakes and charting, performing electrocardiograms, prepping patients for in-office procedures, checking insurance eligibility, and submitting insurance authorizations. I also have the opportunity to converse with Spanish-speaking patients and translate for them.

As an undergraduate researcher in the Fogel Lab, I worked primarily with bioinformatics tools to conduct variant querying and analysis. Using R, Bash, and Python in coordination with tools like VCFTools and DNANexus (an AWS-based platform for creating and executing workflows), I was able to generate a compilation of variants that cohorts of individuals had and analyze them based on various criteria as established based upon multiple research papers. I also had the opportunity to learn how to read and present medical research papers.

As a Math Instructor at Mathnasium, I worked with students in grades 1 to 11 on various different mathematics concepts, ranging from basic addition to Advanced Placement Calculus. Being an instructor not only gave me the opportunity to work with students and make the subject of math easier and more enjoyable for them but I also got to strengthen my own math concepts and, in turn, be a better instructor.

I was a part of the Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT), a multicenter research study that is based at Yale and includes Duke University, Boston Children’s Hospital, the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and UCLA.

The D&A (Discussion and Awareness) Talk Show is an annual event organized by the Girl Up chapter in my alma mater (Evergreen Valley High School). The purpose of this talk show is to bring awareness to the community about different social topics, ranging from raising awareness about the struggles the LGBTQ+ community faces to how we as a society can do our part in the climate change movement. I focused on autism awareness and acceptance as my topic of discussion. My main goal was to help my community understand what exactly autism (and special needs) is and how they can help the cause.

Boston University RISE is a highly renowned internship program in which rising seniors are given the opportunity to conduct research in a STEM field of their choice. During this program, I was part of the Practicum track, which focused on the subject of computational neurobiology. As a part of RISE, I had the opportunity to conduct wet lab to observe neural activity in crickets. We also performed several dry labs in which we utilized neural networks to model the brain. The end goal of this program was to create and carry out our own project using deep learning. I worked on a project in which I manipulated a neural network to model seizure activity in the brain.

UC Irvine's COSMOS is a competitive, four-week program through which students are motivated and encouraged to explore their interests in the STEM fields. I was part of Cluster 6 (Biomedical Sciences — Clinical Translational Science: The Next Generation of Biomedical Research), which focused on understanding how lab research is translated to the industry of pharmaceuticals. During this program, I had the opportunity to learn about new and improved technologies, such as the robotic surgery arm and high-end microscopes. I also conducted wet labs in which I mastered the skills of micro-pipetting and gel electrophoresis. I also conducted my own research project with other team members about Alzheimer's; this project taught me the importance of teamwork while also allowing me to educate myself about Alzheimer's.