Perla Molina

"Because humans don't have wings, we look for ways to fly."


Hello! Nice to meet you, my name is Perla Molina. I'm a resilient Ph.D. student and an aspiring Data Scientist at Stanford University in the Department of Biomedical Data Science within the School of Medicine where I am advised by Nima Aghaeepour in the Aghaeepour Lab. I received my Bachelor's in Data Science from the University of San Francisco (USF) in May of 2023. My current research interests are rooted in maternal and baby health, where I’m using machine learning and computational methods to assess heart failure risk in newborns. Outside of research, I enjoy anime, manga, K-pop, K-dramas, horror media, reading, writing, and, of course, napping.

I want to change the world with numbers—that is my motto as I move forward in my career. Since I was young, I’ve been driven to find a career that can help people, and my passion for math and coding ultimately led me to data science in healthcare and biomedicine. My research today focuses on analyzing large datasets from electronic health records and biological markers to uncover patterns in newborn health, specifically targeting heart failure. I’m working to develop computational methods that will help identify risk factors and improve prenatal and neonatal care, advancing health outcomes for mothers and babies. In the future, I hope to bridge this work into gynecologic cancer research to support women's health more broadly.

As a queer Latina pursuing a STEM degree, I’m also dedicated to supporting underrepresented groups in academia. I previously served as President of the Association for Women in Mathematics at USF, where I led funding initiatives and helped fellow students access valuable opportunities like conferences. Currently, I served as a Program Leader at Stanford’s ADVANCE Summer Institute, supporting marginalized and underrepresented incoming Ph.D. students in biosciences. I am also the Principal Communications Officer of the SACNAS Stanford Chapter, where I work on outreach and student-led events, and I contribute to my department’s JEDI committee, advocating for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Through my work, I aim to break down barriers in STEM and to become a source of inspiration for others pursuing their own paths in science, regardless of background or identity. I firmly believe that no one is ‘bad at math or coding’—everyone has the potential to thrive in science, no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disabilities, or personal challenges.

Home Page Profile Picture
Stanford Headshot

Latest Concert: ATARASHII GAKKO in SF 24.09.29

Latest Concert: ATARASHII GAKKO in SF 24.09.29
Latest Concert (J-Pop): ATARASHII GAKKO in SF 24.09.29











Skills

Coding Skills

HTML

Expert

CSS

Expert

Python

Proficient

R

Proficient

SQL

Proficient

Java

Proficient

JavaScript

Novice

Other Skills

Adobe Dreamweaver

Expert

Microsoft Excel

Proficient

Qualtrics

Proficient

Adobe Photoshop

Proficient

Adobe Illustrator

Proficient

Github

Intermediate

Adobe Flash

Intermediate










Experience



Stanford University -- Stanford, CA | May - August 2024

● Collaborated with the Director of ADVANCE and other program leaders to develop programmatic activities for the Stanford ADVANCE Summer Institute, a comprehensive 8-week transition program for incoming Biosciences graduate students

● Facilitated and led workshops and activities designed to acclimate scholars to campus, and to promote academic, professional, and leadership skills throughout the program

● Supported scholars transition into their first year, contributing to a foundation for a successful and rewarding graduate experience



H&M -- San Francisco, CA | November 2022 - June 2023

● Promote and sell affordable and modern fashion clothing

● Helped deliver store sale goals

● Merchandised and organized products

● Maintained organization and appearance of departments I was positioned to



University of San Francisco -- San Francisco, CA | January 2022 - May 2023

Managing and overseeing club activities. In charge of administrative tasks and communications including but not limited to coordinating meetings, organizing operational tasks of all other executive board members, and communicating with faculty advisors and school administration to approve events. Administered an initiative to revive the club after the pandemic and encourage women in mathematics and other related fields. Began and led fundraising for the club. Advocating for equal opportunities for women in STEM and decreasing the gender gap. Motivating women of color in STEM to prove stereotypes wrong.

Created a website for students and faculty to access more information about the club, upcoming events, and important announcements (https://sites.google.com/view/awmusfca)

Began and designed new annual fundraising events.



University of San Francisco -- San Francisco, CA | August 2021 - May 2023

● Assisited professors in keeping track of students' work in Data Science and Mathematics classes (2 classes in Data Science w/ R, 1 class in Elementary Statistics, and 2 classes in Discrete Mathematics)

● Graded student assignments while providing feedback on what students got wrong or did not understand.

● Held office hours for coding support

● Provided academic and college-related support for any students or underclassmen who ask for it



Sunglass Hut -- San Francisco, CA | February 2021 - October 2022

● Promote and sell high-end sunglasses while on commission pay

● Set and delivered store and individual sale goals



DaVita Kidney Care Company -- San Francisco, CA | June 2022 - August 2022

Worked with the DaVita Clinical Research team doing preliminary and analytical research on Care Partner Stress in order to give voice to them as part of the patient experience and involve them more with the company's continuous development of quality care. Worked on research tasks involving qualitative research and Natural Language Processing. I programmed a survey for Care Partner Stress on Qualtrics and aided in the launching process. Conducted preliminary and analytical research on the Care Partner Stress survey results & presented findings to the team.



University of San Francisco -- San Francisco, CA | May 2021 - December 2021

Advocating for equal opportunities for women in STEM and decreasing the gender gap. Motivating women of color in STEM to prove stereotypes wrong. Coded a website from scratch for AWM members, USF students and faculty to access for information, recent news, and upcoming events.



Douglas High School -- Minden, NV | Septemer 2018 - May 2019

I created websites for 4 of my high school teachers using HTML and CSS, as well as Google Sites as a side project for my Web Development class.

I was also assigned to re-design a website for a local shop in my hometown.

I was the leader of a three-person group in charge of redesigning my high school's entire website as a collaborative project between different class levels of web development.

Through these various projects, I learned communication skills by talking to my team and talking to clients about what they wanted. I also learned leadership skills by coordinating my team on what sections to work on, how to do it, and what to do in my absence. I also gained experience working in a client-based environment.

When finishing a website, I had to run feedback surveys for all those websites to help me and my teammates constantly update our websites as well as learn from any criticisms we received from either the client or public viewers.












Projects

Currently updating...












Blog



ADVANCE Program Leader!

June 1, 2024

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as ADVANCE Summer Institute Program Leader at Stanford Biosciences!

I was accepted into ADVANCE last summer as an incoming student and had such a wonderful time. It truly made the transition to grad school A LOT less stressful than I was anticipating and was able to make many friends before the school year started.

And because of the positive experience I had, it was only right to pay it forward and become a Program Leader and help other incoming grad students matriculate into Stanford.

A special shout out to Marco Antonio Monroy, the Director of ADVANCE and to all the wonderful programs leaders who were my mentors and gave such great advice about grad school life. I truly can’t wait to be on the other side and mentor students!

(Below are some fun memories from my time as an ADVANCE student🤗)
2023 Stanford Biosciences Lab Coat Ceremony with ADVANCE Cohort ADVANCE Genentech Tour 2023 2023 ADVANCE Closing Dinner

...Read more

Stanford Biosciences Lab Coat Ceremony

September 27, 2023

I’m officially a Ph.D. student at Stanford now 😭
2023 Stanford Biosciences Lab Coat Ceremony with DBDS Cohort 2023 Stanford Biosciences Lab Coat Ceremony with ADVANCE Cohort 2023 Stanford Biosciences Lab Coat Ceremony with ADVANCE Cohort 2023 Stanford Biosciences Lab Coat Ceremony with ADVANCE Cohort

...Read more

ADVANCE Institute Cohort

July 22, 2023

Fun times with my ADVANCE cohort! ADVANCE Campus Tour 2023 ADVANCE Genentech Tour 2023

...Read more

USF Graduation + Stanford Acceptance!

June 28, 2023

It’s taken me a long time to write this up due to being busy with finals, graduating, visiting family for two weeks, going to concerts, ending up in a hospital with two bodily infections for a day, and moving to Stanford.

Yes, that’s right! I GOT INTO STANFORD!!!!!!

I remember when I was in high school - thinking about college and - I had thought about Stanford. But at the time, I knew I wasn’t ready for Stanford. I was in a position in my life where Stanford was unattainable, unreachable. Especially since I was forced into lower math classes due to my ethnicity and missed out on taking classes I wanted to take that could’ve helped improve my transcript.

Thus, I settled for comfort and a place I knew I could succeed in for undergrad which was at the University of San Francisco. It still was a big challenge for me, being the typical small-town-girl-moves-to-big-city trope. I had no family nor friends coming to SF. I basically was starting life anew at the age of 18. I also went through a lot of hardships on top of dealing with the pandemic throughout. I had relapses in my mental health and heartbreaks. I had to work two jobs to make ends meet. I made a lot of sacrifices and dealt with things normal everyday people never want to deal with.

But I’m still here now. And I still made wonderful memories and everlasting friendships at USF. I grew as a person and gained so much knowledge to help me move forward in life. I realized my own potential. All that gave me courage to pursue graduate school.

That’s when I came to discover the BMI program at Stanford. It was daunting, to say the least. With those thoughts from high school creeping back in. But I’m not my high school self anymore. I gathered a lot of courage to apply. I set aside so much time trying to illuminate my application as much as possible. I wanted to stand out. Which took time and effort. I spoke to many professors help with my essays and CV, all of which I am extremely grateful for as I made it to the interview stage. I was was one of the 29 out of 400+ applicants who made it to the interview stage. To say I was happy and excited is an understatement. However, now came the stress of preparing to interview.

I spent time improving my communication with other interviews and showcasing more of who I truly am. And I did managed to do exactly that as I got the offer and I am currently on Day 3 of living at Stanford.😁 I’ll spare you the sobbing I did during the phone call of the news and the joy of telling my parents. I merely want to emphasize that life is hard, and if you aren’t born with opportunities in your hands, it will take time and sacrifices to get what you truly desire in life. My parents are immigrants with no financial status to help me with tuition. I’m also a Latina in STEM. Of course I had all sorts of hardships and there’s more to come, but that doesn’t mean I should give up halfway. Nor should anybody. Life truly is what YOU make of it.

USF Graduation 2023 USF Graduation 2023 USF Graduation 2023 USF Graduation 2023 USF Graduation 2023 USF Graduation 2023 Cropped Stanford Acceptance Letter 2023

...Read more











Publications

Coming soon...











Contact

I also do freelancing Web Development! If you need a website made, feel free to reach out to inquire.

Access archived projects here

[email protected]

[email protected]

Based in Stanford, CA 94305