LEAPH LAB - Key Persons
Anthony joined the LEAPH Lab in 2022 Fall. He is an undergraduate at Virginia Tech majoring in Computational Modeling & Data Analytics and has a solid background in computer science, statistics, and high performance computing. He previously interned at CACI as a Software Engineer and the Naval Surface Warfare Center as a data analyst. Outside of school, Anthony enjoys sparring in taekwondo, playing games, and longboarding.
Anthony's research interest includes machine learning and its applications in healthcare.
Aruj joined the LEAPH Lab in 2023 Spring. He is currently pursuing Masters in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. He has always wanted to enhance my knowledge of algorithms and mathematics involved in AI to provide novel solutions to real-world problems in a wide array of disciplines. His long-term goal is to build proficiency in health data science, scalable systems, and big data to help developing countries meet their healthcare goals sustainably and affordably.
Aruj has gained relevant research experience when he was working in a collaborative project between BITS Pilani and University of Warwick to identify Gestational Diabetes Mellitus using machine learning.
At BITS Pilani he has worked on projects like predicting interactions between RNA binding proteins and sequences, and identifying cancerous genes using machine learning. Within the Industry, he has worked as senior software developer at cognizant technology solutions and as data science intern at Armsoftech Pvt Ltd.
In his spare time Aruj enjoys reading books and hiking.
Shan joined the LEAPH Lab in 2023 Fall. She is an accelerated M.S. student in the Environmental and Water Resources program in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Her research will focus on developing a rapid detection method for Listeria. Shan works as a Water Resources Lab GTA, aiding students in understanding Water Resource concepts through hands-on lab activities. She currently works part-time as a Water/Wastewater Engineer, assisting with pipe relocations and pump designs. In her free time, Shan enjoys reading and knitting.
Shannon joined the LEAPH Lab in 2022 Fall. She is an M.S. student in the Environmental & Water Resources Engineering program in the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is a part of the graduating class of 2022 from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and minor in environmental science. In her undergraduate career, she completed research on nitrogen transport in biochar- and compost-amended soils for stormwater management improvements in roadway soils. Her thesis focused on analyzing the effect of the Summer of 2021, single-use plastic ban on UVA's waste stream, and comparing the sociotechnical factors influencing the municipal solid waste management systems of the US and Germany. She is a Virginia resident and was a member of the Society of Women Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, and Rodman Scholar program.
Ying-Xian joined the LEAPH and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech as a doctoral student in Fall 2023. He is an integral part of the third cohort class in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program in Infectious Disease.
Before his venture into LEAPH, Ying-Xian served a stint as a Research Officer in the largest population-based health cohort studies in Southeast Asia, where he conducted research in public health, focusing on both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Ying-Xian received his M.S. in Biology from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, under the mentorship of Prof. Hong-Yu Ou. His M.S. research strives to understand specific gene pairs (such as the toxin-antitoxin system) using bioinformatics and molecular biology approaches. Ying-Xian enjoys travel, arts, literature, and cinema during his free time.
Ying-Xian is pronounced as "ing-shian"