Project Showcases
Displayed here are a selection of data analysis projects I undertook as an undergrad statistics major at Carnegie Mellon, either independently or as part of a team. The contexts in which these projects took place ranged from biological sciences, social sciences, to online learning of a foreign language.
To learn about my graduate work, check out Research and Publications.
Click on the thumbnails for full-sized posters (opened in new windows).
Project | 01
Statistical Genetics of Schizophrenia
For my year-long senior honors thesis, I applied a novel meta-analysis framework -- Detecting Association With Networks (DAWN) -- to search for potential risk genes and sub-networks for schizophrenia. After identifying in the gene expression data what I defined as 'correlation-wise odd pairs', I proposed and performed a transformation procedure to fix them. In doing so, I combined microarray and RNA-seq data by transforming them into comparable measurements, thereby increasing sample size.
Titled Identifying Schizophrenia Risk Genes and Sub-networks Using DAWN Framework, my senior thesis was published as a Dietrich College Honors Thesis by the Carnegie Mellon library here. A copy is also available here. (The library somehow broke many LaTeX'ed mathematical formula when trying to add a cover page. My original version uploaded here has the intact formula.)
I presented this work as a talk at Meeting of the Minds, an annual undergraduate research symposium at Carnegie Mellon. For this, I received 1st place in the oral presentation competition held by the Department of Statistics.
Later, supported by a travel award, I also presented this work as a poster at the Symposium on Immune Modeling in the Big Data Era at the University of Rochester in June 2015.
Project | 02
Statistical Genetics of Autism
In this project, I analyzed RNA-Seq gene expression data from mouse genes to investigate Copy Number Variant (CNV) effect on mouse chromosome 7qF3. This region is syntenic to human chromosome 16p11.2, believed to be associated with autism. Using correlation studies and network analysis, I searched for potential hub genes in the syntenic region that drive CNV effect in genes outside that region. This project was part of a larger study on autism (see Publication).
Project | 03
Sampling, Survey, and Society
To study if there is any correlation between social involvement, and academic performance and life satisfaction respectively, amongst Carnegie Mellon undergraduates, we developed a sampling scheme and collected 280 pencil-and-paper survey responses throughout the campus in a week. Upon analyzing the data collected, we also presented the results at Meeting of the Minds.
Project | 04
Data Mining Based on Online Learning Data
My team collaborated with a faculty client (a professor of French) to investigate students’ behaviors and performance during online language learning. We analyzed large-scale datasets from iterations of Elementary French I on Open Learning Initiative. We communicated progress with client regularly, and presented results at Meeting of the Minds.