Working alongside Rochester faculty mentors, a data science master’s student analyzes how turning genes on and off can impact neurodegenerative diseases.
Alejandro Cruz Setzekorn wants to harness the power of data science to help develop new forms of neuromedicine and fight neurodegenerative diseases. “In my mind, data science is one of the most powerful tools that a scientist can leverage,” he says.
Cruz, who is pursuing a master’s in data science with a genomics track, got his first opportunity to contribute to research in the field over the summer while interning as a bioinformatician in the laboratory of Steven Goldman, a distinguished professor of neuroscience and neurology, and the co-director of Rochester’s Center for Translational Neuromedicine, at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
The lab is exploring techniques to induce remyelination—rebuilding nerves’ ability to form sheaths for improved conduction—to help combat neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Cruz focused on epigenetic work, using bioinformatics tools to compare regions of the genome where histone modifications can alter the regulation and transcription of DNA across different cell samples. He says the work has been enlightening.
“It’s been a steep learning curve but really interesting work and I’m glad I got to be a part of it,” says Cruz, who studied physics and international relations at Florida International University. “I want to continue building my skills in coding and machine learning because I think it’s a really cool tool to apply in the field of medicine. I feel really grateful for the lab, the people I’ve met here, and my data science cohort in general.”
Cruz is part of the first cohort of Genomic Intensive Data Science Research, Education, and Mentorship (GIDS-REM) fellows. The program, partially funded by the National Institutes for Health, provides students on the genomics track full-tuition scholarships, guarantees them internships, and connects them with mentors.
Samuel Norman-Haignere, an assistant professor of biostatistics and computational biology, biomedical engineering, and neuroscience, is one of Cruz’s mentors and connected him with the internship. Cruz says another mentor, Caitlin Dreisbach, an assistant professor at the School of Nursing and the Goergen Institute for Data Science, has provided him invaluable experience navigating the data science program because she has a master’s in data science as well.
Upon completing the 19-month data science MS program in December, Cruz hopes to build on the skills he’s learned through the program’s classes, workshops, seminars, and internship experience by pursuing a PhD and further research opportunities.
