Rahul Tacke

I am an intellectually curious and creative thinker who enjoys solving and learning from complex and challenging problems. I am especially interested in the intersection of math and computer science, since it requires inventive thinking and logical reasoning, and allows me to find simple and elegant solutions to difficult problems. I look forward to the chance to contribute to scientific research while bolstering my mathematical and computational skills.

College Board Tests

• PSAT (October 2022): 1500/1520 (760 on Math, 740 on English)
• SAT (December 2022): 1580/1600 (800 on Math, 780 on English)
• AP Calculus BC (May 2023): 5/5
• AP Computer Science A (May 2023): 5/5
• AP English Language and Composition (May 2023): 5/5
• AP United States History (May 2023): 5/5

Competitve Math Exams

• Math Kangaroo (2022): Ranked 4th nationally, 3rd in Massachusetts
• AMC 12 A/B (2023): 102/150 (on both), Qualified for 2024 AIME (top 5%)
• AIME 1 (2024): 7 (Median score was 5)

Junior Achievement Award June 2023

College sponsored award recognizing outstanding academic performance, leadership skills, extracurricular activities, and service to school and community.

National Honor Society Member May 2023

Organization for students that awards membership based on scholarship, leadership, service, and character.

AP Scholar Award July 2023

College Board Award recognizing high school students who have demonstrated outstanding college-level achievement through their performance on multiple AP Exams.

National Merit Scholarship Winner March 2024

Scholarship awarded to high school students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation based on merit.

Koplik Certificate of Mastery Initial Qualifier September 2023

Massachusetts state school tuition credit awarded to high school students based on merit; initial quilifiers are selected based on high performance on the MCAS.

Ranked Second Individually at WPI Math Tournament October 2023

An annual high school math tournament hosted by WPI attended by 4-person teams from 35+ schools (individually ranked second among all students, team ranked second among all teams).

Distinguished Honorable Mention at BMT November 2023

Ranked 11th individually at the Berkeley Math Tournament 2023 among 246 participants taking the General Test.

Science Department Joel Bradford Award May 2024

Awarded by Natick High School science department.

Award for Academic Excellence May 2024

Awarded by Natick High School to the students with the top ten GPAs.

Computational Biology Research June 2023 - January 2024

• Research intern in Dr. Manolis Kellis' computational biology lab at MIT CSAIL
• Project focused on studying how tumors of metastatic melanoma patients respond to immunotherapy at the single-cell level
• Manuscript to be submitted to biorxiv by late April. Working title: “Mature and migratory dendritic cells promote immune infiltration and response to anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade.”

Jazz September 2020 - May 2024

• Primary drummer for the award winning Natick High School Jazz Ensemble
• Ensemble won consecutive gold medals at the Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education state festival in 2022, 2023, and 2024
• West Street Jazz Combo (2021 - Present): Drummer for small band jazz group, performed at various school/community events

Lifeguarding April 2022 - Present

• Red Cross Certified Lifeguard (including CPR)
• Currently work at Longfellow Health Club in Natick

Martial Arts April 2018 - Present

• Green belt in mixed martial arts (muay thai/kickboxing, judo, and jiu jitsu) at Revolution Martial Fitness in Natick

Math Team 2020 - June 2024

• Treasurer for the Natick High School Math Team; participate in multiple state and national level math competitions

Politics Club 2021 - June 2023

• Participate in discussions of current political events

Swimming 2012-2019

• Competitive swimmer for the Wellesley Swim Team and multiple USA Swimming club teams

Mature and migratory dendritic cells promote immune infiltration and response to anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade in metastatic melanoma

(submitted for publication)

Jiekun Yang, Cassia Wang, Doris Fu, Li-Lun Ho, Kyriakitsa Galani, Lee Chen, Dennie T Frederick, Liang He, Amy Y. Huang, Emily J. Robitschek, Sandeep K. Yadav, Wentao Deng, Rahul Tacke, Kelly P. Burke, Tatyana Sharova, Kunal Rai, David Liu, Genevieve M. Boland, Manolis Kellis