Marissa Sumathipala Email & Phone Number

Cambridge, Ma, Us

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Dymecki Lab

Brevia Magazine makes the latest research accessible through bi-annual publications written for the general public. Started research writing competition for high schoolers, with outreach to underserved, low-income schools.

Raised funds for Harvard's National College Research Conference, the nation’s largest student run conference.

Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

MPhil student in the Lakatos Lab, developing stem cell brain organoid models of ALS neurodegeneration. Funded through the Churchill Scholarship.

Founded new iGEM committee to promote public engagement with science, leading team of 25 in 16 countries. Trained scientists on how to engage with the public via workshops on science communication. Reached 200 people in 23 countries. Created a free certification course, “Mastering Science Communication”. Hosted 16 events (panels, speakers) reaching 940 people in total. Senior Editor for the iGEM Digest.

Department Of Genetics At Hms And Broad Institute

Developed new method for large scale profiling of local translation in synapses using droplet based microfluidics. Contributed to new tool that simultaneously profiles both RNA and proteins in single cells using DNA barcoded antibodies.

Fostering opportunities for the education, employment, and career advancement of female and non-binary researchers in network science.

Department Of Biomedical Informatics

Developed statistical model to predict population-specific side effects of drugs and the impacts of COVID on drug safety. Predicted drug mechanisms by integrating 7 single cell RNA sequencing atlases with 3.4 million cells. Published second-author paper in Nature Computational Science.

Card Lab, Janelia Research Campus

Investigated neural circuits for visual decision-making in Drosophila using the largest brain connectome with over 20 million synapses. discovered how sensory neurons use variations in synaptic strength to convert retinotopic information (pixels) into visual features. Uncovered neuronal basis for landing responses in Drosophila using optogenetic activation.

Recipient of the Certificate of Teaching Excellence by the Derek Bok Center at Harvard.

Dr. Melvin Makhni, Orthopedic Surgery Department

Investigated outcomes, patient satisfaction, and costs of telemedicine in orthopedic care to guide best practices. Co-author in two journal publications, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and Spine (Phila Pa 1976)

Lab Of Late Dr. Amitabh Sharma, Channing Division Of Network Medicine

Built two network science models to predict non-coding miRNA and lncRNA drug targets from multi-omics molecular data with over 95% accuracy. Found targets for diabetes, heart disease, leukemia, and breast cancer. Published two first-author papers in Nature Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Physiology.

Founded biotech startup for computational platform to discover drug targets.

Cammarato Lab, Division Of Cardiology

Studied role of dFOXO and AMPK in cardiometabolic disease. Performed beating heart dissections and video analysis to assess cardiac function. Discovered over-expression improved cardiac function, strengthened myocardial structure, and reduced lipid accumulation. Presented at two conferences.

Master Of Philosophy - Mphil, Neuroscience

Funded by Churchill Scholarship. Completed research-only Master's degree in the Lakatos Lab.

Neuroscience, Computational Science, 3.96/4.0

Activities and Societies: McCarroll Lab researcher, Harvard Figure Skating Co-President

Valedictorian (1/380) Gpa 4.78 / 4.0