Experience

Research Experience

Scientist, AI Research | 03/25 – Present

Designed and led core research initiatives foundational to Lila’s scientific roadmap—recognized by company leadership as instrumental to securing the company’s $350M Series A funding

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, PhD Candidate | 09/21 – 02/24

Developed numerous state-of-the-art deep learning frameworks for molecular design and protein-ligand binding prediction, spanning use cases in oncology, infectious disease, gene editing, and cardiotoxicity, with multiple methods deployed at major pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Novartis

Founding Scientist | 05/23 – 05/24

Designed and led the initiative’s initial scientific efforts, focusing on quantum machine learning methods for drug toxicity optimization; established collaborations with numerous industry partners including Pfizer, NVIDIA, Novartis, and Moderna; and published the initiative’s first collaborative paper as first author—efforts that ultimately catalyzed a $10M investment from the Connecticut State government

Researcher, Computational Safety Sciences (Contractor) | 05/24 – 12/24

Developed a generative deep learning framework for re-engineering drug candidates for reduced hERG liability while preserving their primary pharmacology, and applied it to internal drug development programs dealing with hERG-related challenges

Fine-tuning Prompt Engineer (Contractor) | 03/24 – 06/24

Contributed to the fine-tuning of OpenAI’s large language models by crafting scientifically rigorous Q&A-based prompts pertaining to mathematics, physics, and chemistry to enhance the models’ scientific domain expertise

Scientific Software Developer (Intern) | 05/23 – 08/23

Led the development of a deep learning model for classifying protein-protein interaction interfaces which was integrated into the company’s virtual screening pipeline for PROTACs

Science & Technology Consultant (Contractor) | 06/21 – 09/21

Consulted for NASA on cutting-edge advancements pertaining to energy storage, privacy-preserving networks, image detection, aerial surveillance, and aerodynamic levitation

Undergraduate Researcher | 08/17 – 06/21

Revealed insights into excited-state mechanisms in binuclear rhenium(I)-based organometallic systems using computational methods (quantum chemistry calculations) and experimental spectroscopy (NMR, UV-Vis, fluorescence, and IR spectroscopy), ultimately leading to anion sensor-based applications

Founder & President | Yale University Chapter of the Biophysical Society | 01/24 – Present
Reviewing Editor | Springer Nature | 09/25 – Present
Biophysics Research Seminar Organizer | Yale University | 08/22 – 05/24
Founder, Mentor & Tutor | Illuminating Minds Academy | 09/23 – 01/24
Scientific Blog Writer | Biophysical Society | 02/23 – 04/23
STEM Tutor | Transformation Tutoring | 12/21 – 12/22
Research Ambassador | Undergraduate Research Center at SUNY Binghamton | 8/19 – 06/21
Network and Computer Systems Intern | Rapid Access Communications Inc. | 11/19 – 02/20

Teaching Fellow | Matrix Methods in Quantum Mechanics | Yale University | 10/23 – 12/23
Teaching Fellow | Machine Learning & Quantum Computing | Yale University | 03/23 – 06/23
Teaching Fellow | Advanced General Chemistry II | Yale University | 01/25 – 05/25
Teaching Fellow | General Chemistry I | Yale University | 08/24 – 12/24
Teaching Assistant | Inorganic Chemistry Fall 2020 | SUNY Binghamton | 09/20 – 12/20
Teaching Assistant | Chemical Principles I Fall 2020 | SUNY Binghamton | 09/20 – 12/20
Teaching Assistant | Inorganic Chemistry Fall 2019 | SUNY Binghamton | 09/19 – 12/19
Teaching Assistant | Chemical Principles II Spring 2019 | SUNY Binghamton | 01/19 – 05/19
Teaching Assistant | Introduction to Chemistry Fall 2017 | SUNY Binghamton | 09/17 – 12/17