Aditi Shankar

Hello, my name is Aditi Shankar! I am a 1st-year student at the University of Southern California, majoring in Biochemistry. I am interested in the intersection between medicine and bioinformatics and also in hypotheses-driven laboratory research. In my free time, I like to play basketball, sing, volunteer, and bake. I look forward to connecting with like-minded peers and enhancing my knowledge and passion in this field. I am currently looking for related 2023 summer internships.

ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS/RESEARCH

06/2020 - 07/2020: Summer Research Academies at UCSB - Environmental Science Track

• Researched and wrote a paper on Optimizing Urban Landscaping Trees for Carbon Sequestration 
• Learned how to use platforms such as ArcGIS and R to conduct data analysis

Summer 2021: The Global Health Leaders Conference at John Hopkins University. 

• Learned about current and existing issues in global health, public health, and medicine directly from world leaders 
• Developing guidelines for the treatment of plague, botulism, and anthrax in mass casualty settings and for the system of care for infectious disease emergencies, and many others

2020 - 2022: Aspiring Scholars Directed Research Program (ASDRP) - Fremont, California- Research Assistant (BIOCHEMISTRY and COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPT.)  

• Studied and researched the effect of Paclitaxel on Cephalotaxine & Sulforaphane for Improving Bioavailability 
• Researched novel relationships within the context of colorectal cancers using bioinformatics

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

2020 - PRESENT: Red Cross. 

• Blood collection and donation process and interacted with people from many different backgrounds, and ensured that blood donors have a pleasant and fulfilling experience when donating 

2019 - 2020: MEMBER/OUTREACH VOLUNTEER - Next Generation Nations.  A nonprofit targeting global issues that challenge humanity and the progress of societies.

• Generated awareness and promoted membership in school and in the Bay Area through remote meetings, online Q&A sessions, and social media campaign (Instagram and Facebook). 

2020 - 2022: TUTOR - Learn in Shelter. A nonprofit providing tutoring for students in need.

• Tutored 5th grade students in math, english and grammar. Created engaging slide shows to make the sessions interactive

2020 - Present: FOUNDER - Sweets4Smiles. A nonprofit that organizes bake sales to raise funds for those experiencing homelessness.  

• Baked cookies and cupcakes for different holidays and events. 
• Donated $200 to Abode Services, a local homeless shelter, and to the Lebanese Red Cross 

CLUBS

2020 - 2022: ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR/PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER - Innobiotech. Biotechnology Club at Mission San Jose HS

• Introduced topics in Biology, Computer Science, and Engineering to members
• Coordinated with the Innobiotech executive board and reached out to field professionals

2020 - 2022: Mission San Jose Genes in Diseases and Symptoms

• learned how to use and analyze Kegg pathways, gene expression, and other computational biology concepts 

SKILLS

COMPUTER - Google Sheets, ArcGIS, R, Arduino, Java; Learning Molecular Docking using Chimera, AutoDock Vina

2022 - PRESENT: University of Southern California

Major: Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

Relevant Coursework: General Chemistry for Chemistry Majors, General Biology, Research Seminar in Chemistry, Introduction to Python

2018 - 2022: Mission San Jose High School

Relevant Coursework: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Precalculus, AP Computer Science, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics