About Me

Welcome to my researcher page! I am a Human Genetics PhD candidate at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Human Genetics in the School of Public Health. I currently work as a member of Dr. HJ Park’s lab, where I am focusing on using machine learning and causal inference methods to better understand complex genetic diseases. Specifically, I am developing statistical methods for large-scale databases to better elucidate risk factors for complex disease. A few of the papers I’ve written in the last year that I’m excited about include: Epstein-Barr Virus Seropositivity, Immune Dysregulation, and Mortality in Pediatric Sepsis, published in JAMA Open Network, DeepDiff-SHAP: Interpretable deep learning for subgroup-specific causal hypothesis generation using conditional SHAP, reviewed and accepted as a conference paper for the 2026 Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing, and DeepEXPOKE: A Deep Learning Framework with Polygenic Risk Scores as Knockoffs for Deconvoluting Genetic and Non-Genetic Exposure Risks in Sepsis and Coronary Heart Disease, currently in press at Genome Medicine.

I received my M.S. in Genetic Epidemiology from the University of Washington, Seattle in June 2022. As part of my Master’s thesis working with Dr. Kathleen Kerr, I investigated genetic factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility in multiethnic populations. In the summer of 2021, I worked as a visiting research intern at UCSF with Dr. Lauren Weiss’s group and Dr. Helen Kim’s group on two unique complex genetic disease research projects. With Dr. Weiss, I investigated the hypothesis that maternal asthma can be a predictor of autism in children; I worked on developing polygenic risk scores and using risk scores as a metric for disease prediction and prevention. With Dr. Kim, I investigated the genetic basis of cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs). You can find more information about the scope of these projects and my prior research experience here.

I received my B.S. in Genetics and Genomics from the University of California, Davis along with a minor in Statistics in June 2020. I credit a lot of my scientific curiosity and appreciation for research to my time working in Dr. Megan Dennis’s lab and the wonderful mentors (Dr. Alexandra Colón-Rodriguez, Dr. Megan Dennis) I had. From 2018-2020, I studied autism spectrum disorder models in zebrafish.

When I’m not on research duty, my hobbies include watching any and all sports, playing the piano and drums, playing basketball and tennis, nature photography, and all things coffee.

If you have any questions about my research or career path, feel free to send me an email at: ads303@pitt.edu.