Investigating A\( \beta \) Oligomerization

I am using molecular modeling to study how proteins organize, stabilize, and misfold in biological systems. My recent focus is on amyloid beta oligomerization—a process central to neurodegenerative diseases.

• Modeling A\( \beta \) oligomers using AlphaFold 2 and 3
• Identifying the minimum number of monomers required to form a closed, stable structure
• Determining how many additional monomers are needed for each subsequent oligomer to also close

This work sheds light on the physical thresholds of pathological aggregation, and contributes to our understanding of how molecular size influences structural stability in early-stage amyloid formation.

Research conducted under Dr. Haddadian,
Haddadian Lab, University of Chicago

Simulating TCR-Peptide-MHC Interactions

I'm modeling the dynamics of T-cell receptor (TCR) binding to peptide-MHC (pMHC) complexes to better understand the physical basis of immune recognition.

• Running GaMD and NAMD simulations on antigen-specific TCR-pMHC systems
• Examining how TCR binding geometry alters downstream signaling potential
• Comparing the effects of TCR structural variants in in vitro versus in vivo contexts

This work highlights how subtle conformational differences in TCRs can lead to vastly different biological outcomes, and may help explain discrepancies between engineered TCR performance in experimental systems and actual therapeutic response.

Research conducted under Dr. Haddadian,
Haddadian Lab, University of Chicago

Trust in AI Moderation

I co-authored a study titled How University Students Perceive Hate-Speech Moderation by Large Language Models, which examined how students evaluate the fairness and legitimacy of LLMs used to moderate hate speech on social media.

• Sampled 1,000 tweets from the Davidson et al. (2017) hate speech corpus
• Used GPT-3.5-turbo to classify tweets and estimate confidence scores
• Surveyed 21 students on their agreement with the LLM's labels and asked them to classify tweets independently

We found widespread skepticism: participants believed LLMs exhibited unfair bias, particularly along political lines. Even when the model’s labels were accurate, concerns about fairness and transparency significantly shaped trust. Ultimately, perceived fairness had a stronger impact on trust than raw performance.

This research emphasizes the importance of transparency, accountability, and user-centered design in the deployment of AI moderation systems.

K-12 Privacy & Security

I'm conducting qualitative research under Professor Marshini Chetty examining how privacy and security policies affect K-12 students, parents, and educators.

• Analyzing interview data from students and teachers across the U.S.
• Identifying usability barriers in edtech privacy settings
• Exploring perceptions of surveillance, trust, and consent in classrooms

This work contributes to the design of equitable, transparent educational technologies for children and families.

Research conducted under Professor Marshini,
Amyoli Internet Research Lab, University of Chicago

What I do

At UChicago Medicine, I serve as a volunteer wayfinder, navigating patients and visitors locate their upcoming appointments or their loved ones.

• Explaining appointment locations and next steps
• Walking patients and families to destinations across the hospital

In a space that often feels chaotic or unfamiliar, both physically, emotionally, and/or mentally, I offer a moment of stability, a moment to think only about themselves or their loved ones.

Volunteering through UChicago Medicine's Volunteer Program

Why I Volunteer

I have always loved learning, whether it be history, math, languages, or sciences. But there was one thing I have always lacked: learning from human experiences. Human experiences are invaluable, yet I’ve often found myself confined to books—things that work only in theory, in a perfect world.

However, our world is beautifully imperfect, and it is in this imperfection that I find inspiration. There are countless things to explore and accomplish in life, but none of them are which that can be done alone.

I want to connect with people, understand their stories, learn from their experiences, and help them navigate one step of their journey.

Written in response to “Why do you want to volunteer?”