\nA joint mathematical and computational biology major, Liu is interested in developing and applying computational methods to facilitate biomedical research. \u201cIntegrating computer science with biology has allowed me to see the beauty of theoretical computer science as well as the applications of tools first-hand,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
![\"Ivy](\"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/Untitled-1.jpg\")
Ivy Liu ’20<\/p><\/div>\n
Liu\u2019s research experience includes working with biology professor Catherine McFadden to test the feasibility of using a particular gene to differentiate species within the coral genus Sinularia<\/em>; working with computer science professors Ran Libeskind-Hadas and Yi-Chieh (Jessica) Wu to improve a dynamic programming algorithm for phylogenetic tree reconciliation; and using deep learning to predict DNA sequences related to the remodeling of epigenetic marks driven by a carcinogen with Dr. Cristian Coarfa and Dr. Cheryl Walker at Baylor College of Medicine.<\/p>\n Last summer, Liu worked with Dr. Pavel Sumazin at Baylor College of Medicine to develop computational models to infer cell-type-specific expression from bulk tumor expression profiles. This year, Liu is conducting senior thesis research with biology professor Eliot Bush, developing methods to study the evolutionary history of microbes.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough these experiences, I have found a love for computational biology, and I look forward to continuing research on fundamental problems as well as developing tools that will aid biomedical research in the long run,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Daniel Bashir \u201920<\/strong> Daniel Bashir ’20<\/p><\/div>\n Bashir says his research, conducted with other members of computer science professor George Monta\u00f1ez\u2019s AMISTAD Lab at HMC, seeks to answer the question, \u201cgiven a particular learning algorithm and a particular dataset, by how much will my algorithm overfit or underfit the data?\u201d Having a specific, quantifiable answer to this question for any learning algorithm and set of data would allow a researcher to understand whether or not a particular algorithm is appropriate for a specific task.<\/p>\n \u201cI became interested in this research while I was taking a class from Prof. George in machine learning, information theory and search,\u201d says Bashir, a joint computer science and mathematics major. \u201cI got a chance to think about machine learning from an information-theoretic perspective and see the useful and fascinating parallels between the two fields. This perspective is not only interesting theoretically, but also has practical use. There\u2019s a fair amount of general advice on how to identify whether learning algorithms are overfitting or underfitting and how to fix those problems, but I think that a more quantified framework for answering these questions has the potential to help practitioners iterate on solutions to different problems using machine learning in a more principled way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Computing Research Association (CRA) announced its 2020 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awards in December, and two Harvey Mudd College students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11,22,30],"class_list":["post-8088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biology","category-computer-science","category-mathematics","category-students"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15064,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8088\/revisions\/15064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cThe main purpose of my team\u2019s research is to develop a quantitative framework for overfitting and underfitting in machine learning,\u201d says Bashir. \u201cBoth of these pitfalls are major issues for anyone interested in using machine learning for practical purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/Daniel.jpg\")