Divya Pillai 

ABOUT THE RESEARCHER:

1.     Who are you doing research with this summer and what kind of research project are you doing?

I am doing research under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Statistics Dr. Abofazl Saghafi and Professor/Director of Grad Pharm Program Dr. Kamal Jonnalagadda on this project. This project involves using machine learning to group millions of people that have taken the Big Five Personality Test.

2.     What do you find fascinating in the research you’re doing?

By doing this, I aim to create a versatile design that can be used to evaluate any other huge sets of qualitative data in other fields of study. 

3.     What skills are you learning through the USURF experience?

I am learning how to use the coding language R and how to write a research paper.

4.     What are the challenges you’re encountering in your research?

With such large amounts of data, it takes the computer a while to perform data manipulation, which makes being concise very important. Additionally, when there is a problem, it is quite difficult to receive help due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

5.     How is your USURF experience impacting the way you view your field?

This experience has shown me the importance of incorporating computer sciences into medicine.

6.     Tell us something interesting about yourself.

I’m a food-lover and picked up some baking recipes during quarantine. 

7. How has the COVID pandemic impacting you and how are you coping with it ?

It has definitely made it harder to see friends and family for the sake of the public good, but using technology has helped stay connected.