Student Spotlights

Xiangning Dong discovered the MS in Biostatistics and Data Science program at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) in 2022 after completing her bachelor’s in bioinformatics. She had been passionate about pursuing a career in biology since high school but developed an interest in data analysis and machine learning during her undergraduate studies. The program at WCM was a perfect fit for merging those skills. 

In 2020, Taylor Dang began medical school with plans to become a naturopathic physician. She was passionate about healthcare and was actively involved in political advocacy centered around health justice. However, as one of few students of color in her cohort, Taylor felt isolated at medical school. She made the call to withdraw and identify another path in healthcare. Taylor is now a graduate of the MS in Health Informatics program at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), where she has found a way to pursue advocacy through the lens of healthcare systems and information.   

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wei-Hsuan Tseng worked as a pharmacist at a hospital in Taiwan. While grateful for her role in helping patients navigate the health system, she witnessed firsthand the impact socioeconomic status can have on access to care. She was motivated to learn about barriers to care, such as rising costs of medication and treatment and policy decisions affecting patient care. She pursued an MS in Health Policy and Economics at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and is now a healthcare policy data analyst at Acumen, LLC. 

Pranav Bhimani was always interested in the biomedical sciences but was unsure of whether medical school was the right path for him. During his undergraduate experience, however, he took a data science class that shifted his understanding of how he could pursue a career in biomedical sciences. As part of the MS in Biostatistics and Data Science program at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), Pranav continued to gain insight into the use of biomedical data.   

Dayoung Kim became interested in artificial intelligence (AI) while completing her undergraduate degree in computer science at the EWHA Womans University in South Korea. She worked in a bioinformatics and natural language processing (NLP) lab there, which shaped her decision to pursue higher education and further her knowledge of AI. She is now an alumna of the MS in Health Informatics program at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and works as a machine learning engineer at Boeing.  

While living in Beijing amidst the pandemic, Guanyu Zou became aware of the increasing value of healthcare data analysis. As he completed his undergraduate coursework, he was motivated to understand and eventually work at the intersection of data and medicine. Guanyu is now part of the MS in Biostatistics and Data Science program at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), where he continues to discover the varied fields that biostatistics can benefit. 

Maya discovered the MS in Health Informatics program while in Austria, where she taught English at a secondary school for two years. While there, she volunteered to tutor Syrian refugees in English, and at welcome centers to help Ukrainian refugees who fled the country when the war began. The experiences were jarring but propelled her to want to do more for others on a global scale.    

As a certified EMT, Amaar Asif works twelve-hour shifts transporting patients to and from the hospital. He’s noticed, however, that a ten-minute ride can cost $2000. As a prospective emergency room physician and student in the MS in Health Policy and Economics program at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), Amaar plans to advocate for change that prevents costs like those.  

Aman Patel grew up with plans to become a doctor, like his dad. Now, as a biostatistician at Mount Sinai, his title may not be what he initially expected, but he’s achieved a newfound balance between his varied interests through the biostatistics and data science track of the MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), now known as the MS in Biostatistics and Data Science program.

Born in Italy and raised in California, Stefan Masselink has had a global view from a young age. A medical mission trip in high school highlighted medicine’s fundamentally altruistic nature. Now, Stefan is enrolled in the health policy and economics track of the MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program at WCM. He hopes to better understand healthcare as a driver of research and innovation, a stage for political reform, and one of the country’s largest industries.

Ying Li's passion for exploring diseases and potential new treatments attracted her to graduate school. WCM's capstone project, comprehensive hands-on training, cohort diversity, and close collaboration with local hospitals and medical centers ultimately brought her to the biostatistics and data science track of the MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program.

Anni Liu imagined dedicating her life’s work to music from an early age. That changed when her university violin mentor suggested the benefits of learning more about the sciences. Now, Anni is set to complete Weill Cornell Medicine’s MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program as part of the class of 2022.

Enrolling in Weill Cornell Medicine’s MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program was anything but an arbitrary decision for Arwa AlHilal (’22). While growing up, she realized that healthcare quality varies tremendously across populations. As a result, she has committed her career to driving healthcare reform and improving access to quality care. The health policy and economics track is helping her achieve even more. 

Nikolay Lukyanchikov, MD, was motivated to continue his education when the COVID-19 pandemic began. At the time, Dr. he was assisting in underserved hospitals in rural Siberia. He saw the prevalence of memory lapses and mistakes when medical personnel is overwhelmed. He is now enrolled in WMC's MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program and hopes to help reduce these incidents in the future.

Students of WCM's MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program have the opportunity to focus on a specific area of research and training. For Nijah (Nina) Glenn, a 2021 graduate of the health policy and economics track, the chance to learn more about private capital and how it shapes innovation and access was one she could not pass up.

While working as a statistical programmer analyst and learning about various treatments for a range of diseases, Po-hsuan Lai came to appreciate the complexity and significance of clinical trials. This is what ignited his passion for biostatistics and his desire to pursue a graduate degree at Weill Cornell Medicine.

In 2015, Anamika Sharma Paudel survived a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in her home country of Nepal. Witnessing an army of healthcare professionals serve communities in need deeply inspired Anamika to dedicate her life to three important areas: healthcare, service, and people. After learning more about Weill Cornell Medicine, it became her top choice for graduate school to begin this journey.

Maria (Pura) Purificacion Ballester-Navarro deeply enjoys analyzing data, finding patterns that contribute to a better understanding of the world, and doing research that will leave a better society for future generations. The health informatics track of the MS in Healthcare Policy and Research program was a perfect fit.

After completing her undergraduate degree in global public health and economics amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Fariha Mujeebuddin felt compelled to continue her work and education in this field at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Zizhuo Xu has seen the power of data science in medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2021 graduate of the biostatistics and data science track, he is motivated to use his skills to bring health knowledge to those around him.

Pratik Mistry has always been interested in technology and using it to help other people. This fascination led him to pursue an undergraduate education in biomedical engineering and eventually enroll in the MS in Healthcare Policy and Research.

Influenced by her mother’s work as a nurse and inspired by the incredible care her father received after his prostate cancer diagnosis, Alison Davis hopes to improve healthcare technology and systems to optimize patient care.

Sophia D’Angelo’s experiences working in a community health center and an emergency department inspired her to pursue a career to address healthcare inequities and alleviate the growing burden of chronic diseases. 

As technology grows increasingly ubiquitous in developing nations, researchers like John Michael Meddar are finding novel solutions to expand healthcare access.

Amy Kim Combines Weill Cornell Medicine graduate education and professional experience to fight COVID-19 on the front lines

After completing his Master of Science in Biostatistics and Data Science at Weill Cornell Medicine, Hongzhe Zhang wants a job where he can “rub my chin and think.”

Chiomah Ezeomah already knows she wants a career in clinical research. She also knows that Weill Cornell Medicine can take her there. 

Soham Sinha has always wanted to become a health economist. It was his particular interest in applied research in health economics that prompted him to pursue a second master’s degree: “I was looking for a school that offered both health policy and economics – Weill Cornell Medicine had just that.”

Sara Jumabhoy is a is a true product of the Cornell education system. A graduate of Cornell University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences, Sara first learned about Weill Cornell’s Master of Science program on the Ithaca campus. 

Shuqi Wang’s upbringing is what led her to enroll in the Master of Science in Health Policy and Economics program within the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Saier Zeng wanted to establish her career at the intersection of business and technology. Upon completing her graduate studies in health informatics at Weill Cornell Medicine, she did just that.

First-year students Hyunkyung Yun and Jungran Lee offer unique new perspectives as employees of South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), which entered into a memorandum of understanding with Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) to provide advanced education and training to the NHIS and their staff through WCM’s education programs.

"I think when you make information systems and manage data in a way that's intuitive to people in practice, you end up with results that are more useful and more accessible."

“There are a lot of patients out there who are receiving treatment that doesn’t work and it can take an emotional toll on them. I don’t only want to be a part of the healthcare system. I want to impact it.”