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General Information

Full Name Saya Dennis
Date of Birth 8 August 1993
Languages English, Japanese

Professional Experience

  • 2019 - present
    Doctorate Researcher
    Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
    • Implemented ML/DL models and parallelized data processing pipelines on large-scale (30+TB) WGS data to develop a disease onset prediction model with 96 % accuracy
    • Processed and analyzed 30+ publicly available spatial transcriptomics datasets
    • Developed a text-mining pipeline to retrieve information from 3000+ oncology and pathology notes
    • Explored novel dimensionality reduction approaches informed by biological domain knowledge
    • Collaborated closely with 3+ physicians to identify and pursue opportunities for ML applications
    • Documented workflows on public repositories for transparency and reproducibility
  • 2022 - present
    HPC Research Computing Consultant
    Northwestern University IT
    • Consulted researchers from 10+ departments to address their hardware and software needs and facilitate computational workflows on a high-performance compute cluster (HPC)
    • Taught 4 tutorials and workshops to help users get started with their workflows on the HPC
    • Developed scripts to map dependencies between software modules to assist with deprecation
  • 2023
    Machine Learning Engineer
    Evozyne, Inc.
    • Scaled out the existing protein-generative ML framework by implementing a distributed, population-based training feature for an optimized and systematic hyperparameter search
    • Implemented temporal orchestration among Metaflow runs in a Kubernetes cluster via cloud storage
    • Developed deployment-ready features included in the CI/CD pipelines and production release of the company’s ML software
    • Collaborated closely with other software engineers, using version control (Git) to manage parallel development efforts and resolve conflicts efficiently
  • 2022
    Machine Learning Summer Associate
    Tempus Labs, Inc.
    • Developed ML models to predict the onset of 4 different types of cancer using structured EHRs and demonstrated the value of the dataset through statistical evaluations
    • Refined the data processing pipeline by experimentation of 30+ combinations of parameters
    • Eliminated data leakage by initiating an improved method for diagnosis identification
    • Proposed a novel data sampling approach to alleviate issues of class imbalance and data availability
    • Presented research findings in team meetings
  • 2020
    Teaching Assistant
    Statistics and Data Analysis for Life Science, Northwestern University
    • Guided 40+ students with varying levels of experience through statistical and coding problems
    • Reported the students' needs to the course instructor to improve course material
  • 2017 - 2019
    Research Technologist II
    Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University
    • Conducted biochemical and high-throughput sequencing experiments to study embryo development
    • Troubleshooted assays by identifying underlying issues and proposing alternative approaches
    • Trained 2 new team members on management of reagents and supplies used by 10+ colleagues

Education

  • 2025
    PhD in Biomedical Informatics
    Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
  • 2017
    BS in Environmental Sciences & Ecology
    Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan

Volunteering Experience

  • 2020 - present
    President
    Japanese Graduate Student Association in the United States
    • Educated aspiring students looking to pursue a graduate degree abroad by coordinating semi-annual information sessions with 30+ presenters and 200+ participants
    • Communicated closely with sponsors to ensure and negotiate continued financial support for 3 years
    • Adapted a previously in-person information session to a fully virtual format during the pandemic
  • 2022 - present
    Founder & President
    Northwestern Japanese Graduate Student Association
    • Started the first official Japanese Graduate Student Association at Northwestern University, funded by The Graduate School.
    • Organized quarterly gatherings with 30+ participants that offered a safe space as well as a networking opportunity for the Japanese community and their families.
  • 2021
    Service Chair
    Graduate Women Across Northwestern
    • Raised awareness of the needs of marginalized women by holding educational book clubs
    • Facilitated discussions about marginalization between students from diverse backgrounds