Page 45 - CBAC Newsletter 2016

Congenital heart defects still affect a lot of newborns. While
surgeries help fix most heart defects, these patients may not
live normal lives, most require constant medical attention
throughout their lives. The research in the Jay lab aims
at preventing these defects from developing. What I
am most passionate about is the fact that the
research we are doing is making a difference.
The goal I hope to accomplish, and what I am
working on now, is to contribute to the
understanding of how congenital heart
defects developed so that preventive
strategies can be designed against these
defects.

Since the genetic basis of congenital heart
defects is complex, it requires a large sample
population to discover an association between
genes and the development of congenital
heart defects. Studying the gene transmission “What I am most passionate about
from parents to offspring is a widely-used
genetic analysis method. This method, however, is the fact that the research we are
doing is making a difference.”
requires genotype data of parents, which was not
collected. I developed an algorithm that deduces
parental genotype data using offspring genotype
and pedigree data. This algorithm can achieve a
92% deduction accuracy. I am also cooperating with
a venture company in St. Louis about the commercial-
ization of this algorithm’s application in plant genetics.

By far, the most important personal achievement of mine
would be to graduate from college at the age of nineteen.
After graduation, I will be applying to MD-PhD programs this
year. I hope to be accepted to an MD-PhD program
(at Washington University, hopefully) and continue my
research in graduate school.

CBAC faculty members study cardiovascular diseases
from multiple perspectives: genetics, ion channels,
imaging and modeling, etc. The diversity in CBAC
helps me understand cardiovascular diseases
in a more systematical way. I have worked
under the supervision of two CBAC faculty
members: Professors Jay and Silva. Their
knowledge and attitudes toward research
deeply influenced me.

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