Myra Dada

While my primary interest is in bioengineering, I have research and work experience in a wide range of disciplines, some of which are outlined below:

Spatio-Genetic Imaging. Since April 2021, I have been a member of the Weinstein Lab at UChicago. Our group's focus is the development of DNA Microscopy, a novel imaging technique that uses DNA as a medium instead of light. Since last spring, I have worked with a graduate student in the lab to design a series of experiments investigating ways to perform this technique isothermally. Additionally, I am working independently to use Monte Carlo methods in Python to simulate the movements and interactions of the DNA molecules we use. I plan to turn this work into an honors thesis, which I will defend in Spring 2022.

Computational Biology and Machine Learning. In Summer 2021, I participated in the Amgen Scholars Program at UCLA. Working in the Meyer Lab, I helped create a model that combines data-driven methods with techniques from machine learning in order to solve for gene-gene interaction networks. During this time, I also participated in professional development workshops, attended research talks each week, and wrote and presented a research paper documenting my work.

Cellular Engineering. From June 2020 to February 2021, I worked in the Cellular Engineering Lab at IBM Research. We used image analysis and machine learning techniques to detect and measure filopodia from images of cells. I also collaborated with a team at Moscow State University, testing our software by quantifying the differences in dendritic filopodia in the presence of different isoforms of tropomyosin.

Structural Biology. From October 2019 to March 2020, I held a part-time position in the Ranganathan Lab, a bioengineering research group at UChicago, where I worked to improve existing techniques for the time-resolved x-ray crystallography of proteins. During this time, I learned many of the wet lab skills involved in protein purification and crystallization.

Neuroscience. In the summer of 2019, I did a neuroscience internship at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While at NIDA, I worked in the Michaelides Lab, where I conducted an experiment to investigate the effect of neuronal zinc availability on cocaine reward in mice. I presented my findings at the NIH Summer Poster Day and the 2019 UChicago Undergraduate Research Symposium. You can view my research poster here.

Nanotechnology. During the summers of 2016, 2017, and 2018, I worked as an intern at Johns Hopkins University studying DNA Origami and self-assembly. As a part of the Extreme Mechanics of Architected Materials Group, I designed DNA nanostructures of varying nick and crossover densities using modeling softwares such as caDNAno and CanDo. I then helped to create and test the actual structures by preparing them for self-assembly and strength assessment.

Computational Modeling. From June 2018 to October 2019, I worked part-time at Hull Street Energy, LLC, where I used Python to build models of renewable energy markets. I contributed to multiple projects, such as building a streamflow forecasting model and collecting data for an analysis of major climate indices.

Software Testing. In May 2018, I interned at Firaxis Games. During my time there, I worked with the Quality Assurance team to review builds of in-development games and provide feedback to developers. I also shadowed several programmers and helped document bugs and other issues.

For more details about my work history, see my LinkedIn profile. If you would like a PDF version of my CV, please contact me.