黑料导航

A Budding Bioengineer

鈥淚 used to be a professional badminton player in the Philippines, and my dream was to play in the Southeast Asian Games,鈥� says Mary Margarette Sanchez. After she sustained an injury, she stopped playing. 鈥淚鈥檝e always thought that incident was a blessing. It may have been the end of my athletic career, but it opened a gate for a new beginning.鈥�

Sanchez had a knack for math and knew she wanted to pursue engineering. When she came to 黑料导航, she fell in love with biology and chemistry, which is what drew her to the life sciences 鈥� biomedical engineering program (now聽bioengineering). 鈥淚t combines computer science, engineering, math, and the sciences. That tells you enough that it will be a challenging major. However, I am convinced that the program will have adequately equipped me for the demands of the biomedical engineering workforce.鈥�

During the spring 2022 semester of her junior year, Sanchez worked with Professor of Biological and Chemical Sciences聽Niharika Nath, Ph.D., on a research study that aims to automate the detection of cervical cancer using a method that measures and analyzes an entire cellular pap-smear image and classifies the cells into four groups: normal, mild, moderate, and severe dysplastic.

鈥淭o accomplish this, our group developed a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm, which trained and produced a model that distinguishes the cells between the four categories,鈥� explains Sanchez. 鈥淭he program was able to produce reasonably accurate findings, demonstrating the potential of pre-cancerous cell image analysis in detecting cervical cancer.鈥� Sanchez worked with graduate student Venkata Sumanth Dasari to develop a working CNN algorithm that was used to analyze and classify 2,680 benchmark pap-smear images for this research.

With Nath鈥檚 encouragement, Sanchez submitted the abstract to the聽, an online science communication competition in which students compete for awards and recognition for outstanding virtual research presentations. She came in second place in the undergraduate division. (Sigma Xi is an international honor society for scientists and engineers.)

聽an explanatory video about the research.

鈥淚t was overwhelming, especially since it was my first time participating in a research event organized by a well-known honor society organization,鈥� she says. 鈥淎ll of what I learned from this experience can be useful after graduation. From applying the concepts to presenting myself professionally. It was indeed a great learning opportunity.鈥�

Sanchez will continue working with Nath on another cervical cancer study focused only on the nucleus of a pap-smear image. But she hasn鈥檛 limited her research opportunities to only one course. She worked on astrophysics research with Assistant Professor of Physics Even Armstrong, Ph.D., on 鈥溾�� and machine learning with Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering聽Maryam Ravan, Ph.D.聽鈥淥ur paper 鈥楢 Machine Learning approach to Distinguishing Bipolar from Major Depressive Disorder Based on Resting EEG Data鈥� was accepted and is going to be presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference 2022 in Glasglow, Scotland,鈥� she says.

To many, Sanchez鈥檚 workload may sound daunting, but she is determined to make the most out of her college experience. 鈥淪pring 2022 was very challenging,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 a full-time student, and I worked on four research projects and presented three of them. It was hard to manage, but I鈥檓 proud to say that I did it.鈥�

Through it all, she is grateful to have these opportunities. 鈥淚 love the research opportunities and the professors who are willing to teach you their experiences here at 黑料导航. They push you to go beyond your limits, and for someone taking my major, their support is very important,鈥� she says.

And to incoming students, she has this advice: 鈥淏e sure you love what you鈥檙e doing and always have some time for yourself. Knowledge is important and an investment. Appreciate everything and be greedy with opportunities and experiences.鈥�