Akash Macha

Result-driven student-athlete with interest in Bioinformatics/Biotechnology or Molecular Biology/Biomedical Sciences career.

Research Internship, Memorial Sloan Kettering Center (MSKC) , NY, 09/2021 - 09/2022, Interned at the Cancer genomic laboratories of Dr. Nicholas Schultz to continue the research work conducted as a summer intern. Key accomplishments:

• Assimilated large exon splicing events data
• Analyzed the effects of exon-splicing events
• Applied machine learning and built an algorithm that predicted tumor growth based on exon splicing events

Computational Biology Pre-College Program, Carnegie Mellon, PA, 06/2022 - 07/2022, Attended a selective Computational Biology program at Carnegie Mellon University under the guidance of Dr. Philip Compeau. Key areas of focus:

• Used Go (coding language) to code various analytical models
• Sequenced large amounts of DNA from river water samples
• Aligned and compared sequenced DNA to known genomes via Go algorithms

Waksman Institute Summer Experience (WISE), Rutgers University , NJ, 06/2020, Participated in a research project in molecular biology and bioinformatics focused on the DNA sequence analyses of genes from the duckweed Landoltia punctata. Key accomplishments:

• Learned various techniques to sequence DNA
• Analyzed gene sequences from DNA fragments using bioinformatics tools
• Published two unique mRNA sequences on GenBank maintained by National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/1913279281 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/1913279280

• President's Volunteer Service Awards (Bronze & Gold)
• Won Atlantic City Invitational Championship in Volleyball
• Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) Ambassador
• AP Scholar with Distinction Award

• ABS Summer Volleyball Camp (Basking Ridge), NJ, 07/2020 - 07/2023, Founded the ABS non-profit volleyball program Co-coached and directed summer camp for middle schoolers each year Raised $5800 for charity (i.e. American Red Cross, Akshay Patra, and Spread the Joy)
• Saint Barnabas Hospital Volunteer (Livingston), NJ, 12/2021 - 03/2022, Volunteered as a Wayfinder and Surgical Desk Assistant Assisted visitors, maintained facilities, and equipment

Carnegie Mellon Racing Club, 09/2023, Current, Member of the Driverless section Coding a Model Predictive Controller Using Sympy to integrate various physics equations symbolically Volleyball, 09/2018, Current, Outside hitter of Carnegie Mellon Volleyball Club Captain of Junior Varsity, Varsity, and CJVA club team