Projects & Research

A selection of research projects, tools, and explorations across computational neuroscience, brain-computer interfaces, and bioinformatics.

Current Research

Grewe Lab · INI, UZH & ETH Zurich

Semantic Analysis of World Models in Continual Learning

Investigating how world model representations and generated trajectories evolve across sequential reinforcement learning tasks. Training agents on a sequence of MiniGrid environments and semantically analyzing imagined trajectories from frozen model checkpoints to quantify retention and overwriting of prior task knowledge.

Reinforcement Learning World Models Continual Learning PyTorch
Gage Lab · Salk Institute

Quantifying LINE-1 Expression in Alzheimer's Disease

Developed a simulation framework to generate ground-truth RNA-seq datasets and benchmark transposable element quantification tools. Demonstrated that existing methods systematically overestimate TE expression; designed a modified reference transcriptome to correct for this inflation. Benchmarked across long-read (ONT, PacBio IsoSeq) and short-read platforms.

Bioinformatics RNA-Seq Alzheimer's Genomics

Past Research & Projects

Natural Computation Lab · UC San Diego

Zinc Dry Electrode Development and Characterization

Contributed to data collection, signal processing, and classification for benchmarking custom low-cost zinc disc and concentric ring electrodes for wearable EEG. Published at IEEE EMBC 2024.

EEG Signal Processing Wearables
Natural Computation Lab · UC San Diego

SSVEP & Motor Imagery EEG Spelling Bee

Using OpenBCI's Cyton board and EEG cap to play the NYT Spelling Bee game via SSVEP classification of visual cortex signals. A hybrid BCI integrating non-linear prediction models for high accuracy classification.

BCI SSVEP OpenBCI
Triton NeuroTech · UC San Diego

EMG Computer Mouse

Led an EMG-controlled BCI project that navigates a computer using a custom armband and electrodes. Placed second in the International NeuroTechX Student Club Competition 2023.

EMG BCI Hardware
Triton NeuroTech · UC San Diego

Your Mind on DALL-E

Processed and prepared ImageNet stimulus data from the BOLD-5000 dataset to generate image predictions from fMRI neural data using OpenAI's DALL-E.

fMRI Generative AI Neural Decoding
Triton NeuroTech · UC San Diego

EEG Speller

Contributed to three parallel sub-projects (motor imagery, P300 potential, and SSVEP) to build a hands-free communication system via EEG. Placed second in two international neurotechnology competitions.

EEG P300 SSVEP Motor Imagery
Knight Lab · UC San Diego

The Human Gut Microbiome as it Compares to Animals

Developed a QIIME2 plugin performing nested classification to identify the most phylogenetically similar animal gut microbiome to a given human sample. Built and trained scikit-learn classifiers at each node of a custom NCBI taxonomic tree.

Microbiome QIIME2 scikit-learn

Publications

Development and Characterization of Zinc Dry Electrodes for Wearable Electrophysiology

C. Rizq & A. D'Amico, A. Truel & J. Faybishenko, M. Lee, J. Kim, G. Cauwenberghs, and V. de Sa
IEEE EMBC 2024, Orlando, FL · doi

Methods and techniques enabling multi-kilobase long-range genomic rewrite/replace editing

C. Piggott, L. Tjang, S. Chen, U. Tatu, H. Hirou, A. Jaroszewska, E. McIntyre, J. Chen, J. V. Faybishenko, R. Gavan, C. Hackley
bioRxiv 2023 · doi

Teaching

Neuroanatomy & Physiology — Instructional Assistant

UC San Diego · COGS 107A · Fall '22, Spring '23, Fall '23

Organized and taught course content to nearly a hundred students through weekly discussion sections and office hours. 100% student recommendation rate.

Triton NeuroTech — Project Advisor

UC San Diego · 2021–2024

Advised and mentored student projects including Prosthetic Arm, Imagined Music EEG, Neurofeedback Software, Tetris with Motor Imagery, and P300 Potential Magician.

Neural Data Workshop — Instructor

UC San Diego · August 2022

Curated materials to teach introductory Python and neural data analysis in a bi-weekly summer workshop.

Raspberry Pi Bioinformatics Workshop

TRIO Outreach, San Diego · Dec '21 – June '22

Taught bioinformatics to high school students through SSHing to Raspberry Pis installed with bioinformatics pipelines.