u/International-Link34

I'm working on an independent project using single cell data to study cell-cell communication in breast cancer.

I've been using LIANA to identify ligand receptor communication programs and SHAP/XAI to try to understand which genes are most important in explaining these programs.

I've gotten pretty far into the analysis, but honestly, I feel like I need someone who actually works in this field to talk to before I go any further. I have a bunch of questions about my methodology, whether I'm interpreting things correctly, and how I could validate what I'm finding.

If you work in cancer genomics, computational biology, or anything related to single cell RNA analysis, I'd LOVE to talk to you.

Please comment or DM me if you're open to discussions.

I’m a student from Nepal in my gap year. I am applying to the US and a few other places this application cycle for need based aid. EFC is close to 0.
I would appreciate any suggestions regarding what colleges I should apply to. I am also having trouble picking out a college to apply early to. Is it a good idea to add to the extracurricular activities at this point or should I just focus on application. Are there any colleges that give generous aid but don’t require much supplementals are relatively easy to get into? Like most ambitious students, I want to get into a t20 college of course. For those who have done it before, the what would be your advice to me? I also hear mixed opinions on Reddit and in real life. People are way more pessimistic and more far off than actual college outcomes on Reddit from what I’ve heard. Nonetheless, if you have some realistic idea, please hit me up.

Grades:
A levels: Physics, Chem, Biology, Mathematics, EGP 4A\*, 1A
Class rank: 1/105

Test scores: 1540 in SAT, 150 Duolingo English Test

Major: Bioinformatics, Biotechnology or Biomedical Engineering

Rec letters: getting from guidance counselor, biology teacher and physics teacher. I am not sure if I should ask for the additional letter from my principal/physics teacher or research mentor.

ECS:
Editorial leadership for 4 years.
Founding member of literary club in freshman year. Editorial board member of school magazine in sophomore year.

Switched school in junior year. Editor and head reporter in school newspaper in junior and senior year. Led the school magazine team in senior year.

Student council-Vice President
Ran 40+ school events alongside peer based Academic support system with 100+ beneficiaries.

Summer programs: Yale Young Global Scholars(Junior year)

Lumiere foundation Individual Research Program (Senior year)

Received full scholarship for both.

(Junior, Senior, Gap year)
Founded and led an organization that provides reproductive health education to youth and women in rural Nepal. Distribute essential menstrual hygiene goods. Reached 1000+ participants and 6+ partnerships till date.

Research:
Done breast cancer research based on transcriptions and explainable AI. Found cell to cell communication programs. Paper will be submitted for publication soon. Preprint available

Research on endangered Himalayan plants’ gene level response to climate stress. Under review for publication.

Innovation project:
Explainable AI based diagnostic tool for uterine cancer(prototype) based on genetic dataset and imaging data. Plan to expand to breast cancer and to a full fledged oncology platform.

Built simulations for a levels biology students to learn biology adopted by 2 schools.

Building an antenatal care app for mothers in Nepal to decrease maternal mortality rate. Helps provide guidance and educational modules and coordinate with medical care providers

Awards:

1. National Chemistry Olympiad Gold Medal
2. John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition High Commendation in Philosophy
3. Glocal Teen Hero Nepal 20 under 20
4. Valedictorian of my high school
5. Consistently made it to principal’s merit list for 2 years

I've registered for the September SAT, but haven't got the time to practice for the past few months. I am wondering if I should postpone to October or take a second test in October. I'm also applying to colleges this cycle. Before that, I'd like to have a realistic sense of how much I would score if I sat the SAT today. I have exhausted all the questions from the college board question bank, so I get inflated scores in bluebook practice tests as most questions are repeated. Is there any free practice test I can take to determine my current level. I would really appreciate some suggestions.