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Megan D

- Research Program Mentor

MD/PhD candidate at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Expertise

Medicine, biostatistics, bioinformatics, neuroscience, autism, athletics, big data, disparities

Bio

I am a second-year MD/PhD student with research experience in big data analysis, statistics and machine learning at the National Institutes of Health and The Jackson Laboratory. My combined medical and bioinformatics training allows me to conduct research at the intersection of clinical medicine and big data analysis. Ultimately, I aim to improve diagnostics and treatment in the clinical research sphere by implementing innovative and novel computational techniques. At Wheaton, I was also a collegiate athlete, and grew up playing soccer competitively throughout the Northeast. My other hobbies include photography, painting, and exploring NYC with friends throughout my training!

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.

Evaluating the Effect of SFFA Affirmative Action Decision on Undergraduate Admissions

Disparity in access to higher education is a problem that affects students on a national scale. It would be relevant to evaluate the impact of the recent Supreme Court ruling (to eliminate affirmative action in admissions decisions) on the disparate acceptance of those historically under-represented in higher education (by gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, LGBTQ+ identity, etc). By using publicly available application and acceptance data at various levels of trainings, we can evaluate the relative effect of the ruling, and perform additional literature review to identify interventions aimed at achieving parity in higher education.

Outcome Analysis of Surgical Interventions

By using publicly available data, we can evaluate the effects of multiple variables of interest on surgical outcomes, based on your own clinical interest. Ultimately, we could assess how the presence of co-morbidities (ex: diabetes, hypertension, etc) or demographic variables (ex: sex, age, socioeconomic status, etc) affect outcomes of a given surgical intervention (ex: gastric bypass, hip fracture, etc). This project can be applicable to a variety of fields and can be tailored towards your own passions!

Coding skills

Python, MatLab, R, C++, SQL

Languages I know

Spanish - basic

Teaching experience

Throughout undergrad, I served as a teaching assistant for general and organic chemistry laboratories, an athletic peer advisor, a youth therapeutic mentor, and a youth tutor. In my gap year at the National Institutes of Health, I served as a biomedical mentor to high school students. In medical school, I am an anatomy & physiology teaching assistant and peer mentor, and also pioneered a youth sports program at the local Bronx elementary school.

Credentials

Work experience

National Institutes of Health (2020 - 2022)
Postbaccalaureate Fellow
The Jackson Laboratory (2019 - 2019)
Summer Fellow

Education

Wheaton College, Norton MA
BA Bachelor of Arts (2020)
Bioinformatics
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
MD/PhD Doctor of Medicine and of Philosophy candidate
Neuroscience

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