Madisyn

Madisyn
Greater Lowell Technical High School
Tyngsboro, MA

Mentor: 
Shadi Zaheri
Data Science Platform | Methods
 

In her BSSP application, Madisyn expressed her enthusiasm for joining the Broad Institute, stating, “I would love nothing more than to be able to be part of this community of motivated individuals where I could be challenged and gain experience in research that involves the intersection of computational and natural sciences.” At the Broad, she worked in the Long Read Lab within the Methods group on the Data Sciences Platform. Her project aimed to address some potential challenges of drug resistance in malaria treatments by using a computational approach, focusing on the genetic diversity of the disease. By applying principal component analysis (PCA), a dimensionality reduction technique, she examined the genetic structure of malaria populations to trace the abnormalities in the Plasmodium falciparum WGS short read dataset as well as the spread of genetic variants across different geographical regions. Her analysis revealed that some countries formed distinct clusters, suggesting they may have unique genetic profiles. Further research is needed to explore the factors contributing to these separate clusters. This project allowed Madisyn to immerse herself in a computational study with real-world implications. Reflecting on her experience, she says, “BSSP not only taught me about the intersection between computer science and biology but also about the intersection of science and collaboration. I've learned so much as a result of this program and have made so many friends. I'm grateful to have had this experience because it helped me to make lasting connections and has deepened my passion for computational work.”