Elaine Keung

I graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology in 2023, but in that process I felt like I had paid enough time in the lab. I took a plunge into the field of data science and jumped into MIDS after graduating, with the goals of building a solid foundation in data science and machine learning, and exploring industries far from my past experiences through projects . 

I currently work as a data analyst in a genetics lab at UCSD. During my time in this position, I've had the opportunity to apply lessons from MIDS to improve my work, and based on my experiences, tailoring my MIDS experience to help me build a toolkit with skills I'd be able to use frequently. I had planned on making a user-friendly web application interface for our database, with prewritten queries for simple common requests that were usually sent through email (which often bottlenecked progress.) I ran through crash courses in infrastructure, like containerization, load balancing, scaling, and networking, and it was this progression (of hardships) that led me to a MIDS course exactly on these topics, where I picked up more refined skills and brought them back to my project.

Moving forward, I'm further pursuing this interest in the infrastructure side of machine learning, exploring not just how models work, but the design of the systems that allow users to access that model. As we integrate AI into our daily lives, I'm also interested in the ethical aspects: acknowledging the significant convenience these tools bring, and their potential to revolutionize how we learn about the world, while still keeping in mind the safety, privacy, cost, and other possible improvements.