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RESEARCHER
Molecular Epigenetics Research Traineeship
& Co-First Author JCR Q1 Publications
My IB Chemistry classes first taught me how molecules power life—ATP fueling reactions, enzymes catalyzing pathways, lipids breaking down for energy. But a deeper question stayed with me: what happens when nutrition goes wrong? To explore how dietary imbalances trigger disease, I joined BamRock BioTech, a translational research lab in molecular diagnostics and AI-driven health. Over two years of training, I worked across both wet and dry labs—learning whole-genome methylation sequencing, library construction, R-based analysis of DMRs, and machine learning modeling for tumor diagnostics.
In studying metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), I designed the full methodology pipeline, from data collection and DEG identification to GO/KEGG enrichment, PPI-based hub gene screening, and diagnostic model training, analyzing 448 MASLD-, 38 MASH-, and 1,583 fibrosis-related genes that revealed lipid metabolism, immune signaling, and ubiquitin pathways central to disease progression.
Turning next to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, I performed enzyme-based whole-genome methylation sequencing on 25 of the 50 paired ESCC samples and 20 of the 35 plasma cfDNA samples, performed pathway analysis on top 12k+ differentially methylated regions (10,000 hypo + 1,967 hyper) and identifying ESCC-associated signaling (GPCR, cAMP, calcium pathways) linked to early tumor detection.
These projects taught me how interdisciplinary research can bridge chemistry, computation, and clinical relevance. More importantly, they showed me how research connects molecules to public health, and how science can become a tool for prevention and equity.
Co-first author publication on non-invasive biomarkers for MASLD (Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease), published in PLOS One (JCR Q1) , May 2025
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0324972
Co-first author publication on ctDNA methylation for early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), published in Scientific Reports (JCR Q1) , Sep 2025
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