We were excited to catch-up with Amulya, a senior at Jefferson City High School and recent Spring 2020 Horizon Scholar.
After recognizing the limited research opportunities available to her in her area, Amulya decided to apply to Horizon’s virtual research program with the intention of studying diabetes. Having an immediate family member diagnosed with diabetes, she was curious in understanding the role of genetics in the pathogenesis, or development and acquisition, of the disease.
Amulya’s research aimed to analyze and provide an accurate answer concerning the relationship between Type I and Type II diabetes and contributing factors, such as diet, high blood pressure, and smoking by applying Mendelian randomization. Considering that diabetes is one of the leading causes of death for individuals internationally, understanding the association between these factors would be critical for assessing risk and increasing awareness.
Having completed AP Biology but new to machine learning, Amulya describes how Horizon’s Academic Research Program, although advanced, sufficiently equips high school students as she came to evaluate data from white European populations, apply scales of bioinformatics, and utilize machine learning to create plots. Reflecting back on her experience with Horizon, Amulya mentions that she found her research interesting because she never had exposure to machine learning in school. “I’m now thinking about pursuing bioinformatics as a career and I’m entering college as a pre-med major so it made me interested in science as well. Learning this type of research also really taught me how I should go about gathering data, analyzing it, and writing about it. It’ll serve me well in doing future assignments because I wouldn’t have had this type of exposure in school,” she details.
Noticing social vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amulya recently founded a non-profit that employs machine learning techniques to allow donors to distribute goods to homeless populations beyond monetary donations. Looking towards the future, Amulya hopes to continue to do work centered on bioinformatics and public health. She is particularly excited to continue to do research, such as in the field of bioinformatics, as an incoming freshmen at the University of Chicago. When asked what piece of advice Amulya would give to students interested in applying to Horizon’s Academic Research Program, Amulya responded that she would tell students to be curious. “I would tell them to enjoy it, ask questions, and learn as much as they can from the experience,” she points out.