internships

Jurisprudence Learning Community

Skills Learned in Jurisprudence Learning Community Help Student Land Full-Time Position

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:19:03 +0000

Skills Learned in Jurisprudence Learning Community Help Student Land Full-Time Position Andrew J Schappert Wed, 10/22/2025 - 08:19

Cameron Chambers likes a plan. As a high school senior, the Bethesda, Maryland, native already had his career path mapped out.

Cameron Chambers: “I was looking at any opportunity as an undergraduate to get my foot in the door and also investigate law as a practice and see if it was something I would do.”

Now a Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s (BAM) student majoring in accounting in the Costello College of Business, Chambers chose �鶹��Ƶ specifically for the BAM pathway and the opportunity to jumpstart his education and achieve his goal of practicing tax law.

“People always said, ‘Think of education as an investment,’ so I just researched it,” he said. “George �鶹��Ƶ offered the BAM program and I could apply to be a CPA. It lets me do that faster so I can go to law school. It gave me a good place to do all those things.”

As an undergraduate in the Honors College, Chambers explored avenues that would enhance his interest in a future law career. He is a member of the George �鶹��Ƶ Academic Standards Committee and an editor for the Undergraduate Law Review, part of the Schar School Patriot Pre-Law Program.

He also discovered the Jurisprudence Learning Community (JPLC), one of four faculty-led communities, each with its own academic theme, housed in the Schar School of Policy and Government. JPLC is open to any sophomores, juniors, and seniors who plan on pursuing law school following graduation or are interested in learning how the law pertains to a career in public administration, policy, or politics.

“I was looking at any opportunity as an undergraduate to get my foot in the door and also investigate law as a practice and see if it was something I would do,” he said.

In addition to joining a community of peers interested in law and attending field trips in and around the Washington, D.C., area, Chambers gained something unexpected in the JPLC.

“We were assigned a lot of legal research projects,” he said. “I don’t do that as an accounting major.”

The experience of doing research served Chambers well when he interned for eight weeks last summer at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) doing mergers and acquisitions.

“There’s a lot of tax code I had to go through,” he said. “That legal research skill set that I got was invaluable. Other people didn’t have it. And I thought ‘Why am I not struggling?’ Because I did this.”

Chambers, slated to graduate in December and begin next semester as a graduate student, credits JPLC with helping him secure a full-time offer from PwC as a tax associate starting in the summer. He reached out to Shea Holman, director of JPLC, to share the good news.

“I told her that the [JPLC] class prepped me for this perfectly,” he said. “It was that legal research ability that differentiated me and definitely helped me get that return offer in a competitive space.”

For more information about the Jurisprudence Learning Community or any of the Schar School’s other learning communities, visit the Schar School Learning Community webpage.

In This Story

Shea M. Holman Kilian

Request Schar School program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Topics

BAM program

Costello College of Business

Schar School of Policy and Government

Schar School Student Spotlight

Honors College

Environmental science major lands internship with U.S. Geological Survey

Katarina Benson — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:35:51 +0000

Environmental science major lands internship with U.S. Geological Survey Katarina Benson Wed, 10/15/2025 - 15:35

�鶹��Ƶ Environmental Science and Policy major Melanie Medrano has long aspired to work in the federal government, ideally on the front lines of creating meaningful environmental change. She took a major step toward that goal by starting an internship with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where she will assist in their communication efforts through December 2025.

USGS provides a range of data and expertise on earth sciences, water, biology, and mapping to aid decisions on environmental and public safety issues. At USGS’s National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Medrano supports two principal investigators working on the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework. This decision-making tool helps resource managers develop informed strategies for responding to ecological transformations within landscapes caused by climate change.

Melanie Medrano (center) with her mentors Abby Lynch (left) and Jackson Valler (right) at the Reston office. Photo provided

In her communications role, Medrano is helping expand the reach of the RAD framework beyond the USGS by supporting the launch of newsletters, producing case studies that highlight real-world applications of the RAD framework in different transforming landscapes, and interviewing scientists and managers who are implementing or researching RAD.

Although her internship, which started in February, is fully remote—which Medrano said aids in the balancing of her workload with coursework—she met the team in-person this past summer at the USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia. Medrano said her mentors have taught her a great deal about the importance of engaging in interagency conversations and how to communicate science in ways that are both clear and meaningful. Her experience with USGS has so far reinforced a key lesson: learning never stops.

One of the most significant takeaways, she noted, is the greater understanding of how science informs decision-making across various branches of the federal government, including the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of War. Medrano’s work with the USGS, combined with her environmental studies, offers her a comprehensive view of what’s possible when classroom learning is applied to real-world challenges.

Medrano said Department of Environmental Science and Policy professor Younsung Kim played a central role in securing her internship, helping with the application process and facilitating communications between her and USGS.

“It was definitely an opportunity I couldn’t miss,” Medrano said. “Dr. Kim always pushes students to gain real-world experience. She would constantly share opportunities with us, and one of those opportunities was the USGS program.”

Just as impactful, she said, was the encouragement she received from a close friend and fellow George �鶹��Ƶ student already in the program. “She gave me the push I needed to apply,” Medrano said. “That kind of peer support reflects the culture at �鶹��Ƶ.”

A first-generation college student, Medrano chose to study at George �鶹��Ƶ because of its diversity and proximity to Washington, D.C. She is actively involved on campus, serving as the multimedia director of the Hispanic Latina Leadership Alliance, handling outreach to Hispanic students on campus.

She is also the social media director for the Sycamore Institute branch at George �鶹��Ƶ, the first undergraduate Think Tank run entirely by undergraduate students, focused on foreign policy and issues of international security.

When reflecting on her experience with USGS, the only regret Medrano has is the doubt she had for herself before applying to the internship. Her advice for others who are applying for internships is not to self-restrain based on the skills you feel you might be lacking.

“It’s important to network, especially with your professors,” Medrano said. “Let them know what you’re interested in, because you never know what opportunities might be out there.”

Medrano hopes to gain additional field experience and further her research before completing her undergraduate degree this fall. She is eager to continue her work within the federal government, with a particular interest in remaining with the USGS.

“I love what I do right now,” she said.

Since beginning her internship, Medrano has published member profiles for RADish and written a case study on applying the RAD framework to Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

Topics

College of Science

Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP)

Field of career dreams: Grad student spends summer identifying and protecting native plants

Colleen Rich — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:48:10 +0000

Field of career dreams: Grad student spends summer identifying and protecting native plants Colleen Rich Tue, 09/02/2025 - 13:48

Growing up in Winchester, Virginia, Jordan Edlich would often visit Blandy Experimental Farm on field trips as a child. Now a graduate student in environmental science and policy at �鶹��Ƶ, Edlich just spent a summer interning at the farm, which is also the State Arboretum of Virginia, cataloging native plants. One of Edlich’s main goals for their master's research is to create a local floristic survey to help the rehabilitation and revitalization of native plants in Northern Virginia.

Why did you choose George �鶹��Ƶ and how did you decide your major?

Graduate student Jordan Edlich surveyed the arboretum’s native meadow by sections, documenting populations and locations of plant species. Photo provided

I chose this program because it provides students with both the background of environmental science and the political and social tools to address environmental problems. I also grew up in the area and have always been passionate about conserving our local biodiversity. I am looking forward to helping preserve and strengthen regional biodiversity.

What projects have you been assigned during your internship?

My main project at the State Arboretum of Virginia, also called Blandy Experimental Farm, is closely related to my master's research. Using old maps and a GPS device, I surveyed the arboretum’s native meadow by sections, documenting populations and locations of plant species in each section. I was also able to rediscover a rare plant species that the arboretum curators can now conserve and collect seeds from. These include the Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) and the Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora), native plants not originally planted at Blandy. After I conducted the plant survey, I also wrote up a management plan of how best to conserve native plant communities in the meadow and tactics for establishing more of these communities in the future.

How have your courses at George �鶹��Ƶ helped prepare you for the internship?

My courses at George �鶹��Ƶ have allowed me to think about my work at Blandy from various points of view. While I was studying plants from a scientific botanical lens, I was also helping in restoration projects that related to my studies of the logistics of solving conservation-related problems. Practicing ecology from different scientific, political, social, and economic views has helped me understand more about how Blandy is able to successfully work as an arboretum and a conservation entity.

George �鶹��Ƶ graduate student Jordan Edlich (left) working at the Blandy Experimental Farm. Photo provided

How does this internship tie into your career goals?

My career goals include working in natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. This internship directly helped me better understand how to survey and maintain native biodiversity. I could even see myself returning to Blandy in the future, continuing to work in curating and conserving the arboretum's native habitats. This internship gave me both the hands-on skills in how conservation and restoration projects are done, and the resources for understanding the logistics behind these projects. I hope to use these skills to conduct similar projects of my own in the future.

What advice would you give to students starting an internship?

Don't be afraid to explore a field or a type of career that you know little or nothing about. Not only did this experience allow me to become more of an expert in native plants, but it also helped me realize that this was a field I wanted to pursue and continue working in. I would not have been able to know how much I enjoy this field of work and research without trying it first as a beginner. Just the ability to be adaptable and willing to learn new things is a strong ability to have in your career.

You mentioned you’ve had a long relationship with Blandy. What have you done with them over the years?

On summer breaks during my bachelor's, I volunteered at Blandy Farms and assisted with maintaining their native plant trails. Volunteering in projects to remove invasive species and protect native habitats gave me a way to make a direct beneficial impact on my local environment. It was nice getting to know the local arboretum curators and other volunteers who had the same passion for protecting our regional biodiversity. This would ultimately help guide me further toward a career in conservation work. When I applied for the internship, those same curators remembered me and were excited to have me back as a summer intern. Everyone at Blandy was passionate about their work and always willing to teach me something new. I am grateful for how much Blandy has taught me over the years and how it has inspired my academic and career path.

Learn more

Topics

Cybersecurity student hopes to use his powers for good

Shayla Brown — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 15:49:25 +0000

Cybersecurity student hopes to use his powers for good Shayla Brown Fri, 08/29/2025 - 11:49

When �鶹��Ƶ cyber security engineering major Connor Wadlin learned about ransomware attacks on organizations, such as the one on the Health Service Executive in Ireland, in his CYSE 445 System Security and Resilience class, it confirmed his commitment to dedicating his educational and professional career to protecting and preserving human lives.

“There’s nothing more important than protecting and defending others. As an engineer, I’m driven to get important work done by thinking about complex problems and finding suitable solutions,” said Wadlin, who is from Leesburg, Virginia.

Since winter 2024, the Honors College student has been interning at the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) Northern Virginia Node, George �鶹��Ƶ’s branch of the statewide network dedicated of excellence in cybersecurity research. CCI’s mission includes workforce development through training the next generation of cybersecurity experts.

CEC student and Commonwealth Cyber Initiative intern Connor Wadlin. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

“It’s a super exciting job because I get to work with AprilTags, which are on objects that the drone's camera then sees and scans. Instead of sharing data, the tags utilize location information for navigation, tracking objects, or pathing purposes,” he said.

Wadlin is also simulating drone flight with the Microsoft tool Air Sim, a project he presented at the CCI Symposium in April. “I created a model with a 98% accuracy, really high F1 score—higher than what we could find on the market—detecting collisions so the drones would be able to respond to anomalous factors such as objects that get too close, environmental variables, cyber-attacks, and more,” he explained.

Wadlin learned about many of the tools he’s currently using for CCI in his classes with College of Engineering and Computing professors, such as his mentor Mohamed Gebril, an associate professor in the Department of Cyber Security Engineering.

“George �鶹��Ƶ supports people where they are to get them where they want to be,” Wadlin said.

The skills Wadlin has acquired during his time at George �鶹��Ƶ and in his work with CCI have enable him to help other students in their studies.

“Connor is a very skilled student and has been able to develop different programs, as well as 12 labs for sophomore- and freshman-level students at George �鶹��Ƶ. He even assists the students during our workshops,” said Gebril.

Wadlin is participating in George �鶹��Ƶ’s Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program and will to pursuing a master’s degree also in cyber security. Gebril said he’s looking forward to having Wadlin in his classes again as a graduate student.

“It will be a smooth transition from the undergraduate to the graduate level because the curriculum aligns well with the CCI mission, which is to equip our students with the tools to conduct research activity and develop cutting-edge technology,” said Gebril.

Wadlin’s team is also working to develop a first-of-its-kind cyber drone race that incorporates cybersecurity challenges and artificial intelligence for undergraduate students.

Wadlin was diagnosed with autism at 19 and sees this diagnosis as working to his advantage by allowing him to see things from different perspectives and approach problems with his own unique ideas.

“As an engineer, you have to ask yourself ‘how is this making the world a better place?’ That's always got to be the end goal,” said Wadlin.

Explore the College of Engineering and Computing

In This Story

Mohamed Gebril

Topics

College of Engineering and Computing

Honors College

Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

Cybersecurity

George �鶹��Ƶ student finds his voice through dream internship

Shayla Brown — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 18:20:11 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ student finds his voice through dream internship  Shayla Brown Wed, 08/27/2025 - 14:20

For �鶹��Ƶ sophomore Nathan Ferraro, summer hasn’t been about taking a break—it’s been about chasing his dream job. The Honors College student and communication major, who’s concentrating in both journalism and political communication, spent his summer interning as a staff writer with Trib Total Media, a multimedia news network in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where he wrote two to three stories a week. 

“My favorite assignment so far was about a local state representative in Westmoreland County trying to reform a tax-collecting agency,” he said. “I got to interview both the representative and the agency to understand the challenges people are facing and what’s being done to fix them.” 

For Ferraro, the assignment was more than a writing exercise—it was a glimpse into his future. “I hope to work in communications for a political campaign one day,” he explained. “Getting to talk with a state representative and explore that side of the political world was really exciting.” 

Ferraro on assignment in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Photo by Massoud Hossaini/TribLive.

The Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, native recently returned from a semester abroad in Madrid through George �鶹��Ƶ’s Global Gateway Program. Jumping into local reporting has been the perfect way to reconnect with home. “This internship has been a great way for me to re-immerse myself in the community,” Ferraro said. “I love getting to talk with people from local organizations and share their stories.” 

At George �鶹��Ƶ, Ferraro is already immersed in storytelling and civic engagement. He writes for the Fourth Estate, �鶹��Ƶ’s student-run newspaper, and is active in the Society of Professional Journalists and the Public Relations Student Society of America. He is also a member of the Bonner Leadership Program, a civic-engagement initiative that connects students with community organizations. 

Through Bonner, Ferraro works as a development coordinator for Britepaths, a Northern Virginia nonprofit focused on financial literacy and workforce development. “Right now, we’re working to expand services beyond Fairfax and into all of Northern Virginia,” he said. “It’s been amazing to see the real-world impact of that work.” 

The connections he’s made at Britepaths have already opened doors—his supervisor wrote him a recommendation that helped him secure the Trib Total Media internship. Ferraro also credits his Honors 110 Principles of Research and Inquiry course for preparing him for success. “That class really strengthened my research and inquiry skills, which are essential to journalism. It also pushed me to get comfortable with feedback, which has been invaluable for the roles I’m in now.” 

Faculty and mentors have noticed his drive. “What I appreciated about Nathan is his attention to detail, strong aptitude for academic discourse, and really excellent critical thinking skills,” said Honors College professor Caroline West, who taught Ferraro in Honors 110. 

Ferraro sees writing not just as a career skill, but as a calling. “I just love writing and sharing people’s stories,” he said. “Wherever I end up, I hope that’s always at the heart of what I do.” 

In This Story

Caroline West

Internships at George �鶹��Ƶ

Topics

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Communication Department

Honors College

Biomedical internship yielded lively experience

Jennifer Pocock — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 18:22:51 +0000

Biomedical internship yielded lively experience Jennifer Pocock Fri, 08/22/2025 - 14:22

Jacob Lockey improved his pipette and professional skills in his summer at Athari Biosciences.

Jacob Lockey (right) with his Athari Biosciences mentors, Sanskruthi Sreepangi (middle) and Mahaniya Srinivasan (left).

When Lockey, a bioengineering major through the bachelor’s accelerated master’s program at �鶹��Ƶ, accepted his internship at Athari Biosciences, he knew that he would have a different experience than his fellow students at larger companies.

Athari is a small health equity accelerator lab in Sterling, Virginia, that performs biomedical R&D, lab testing, and educational services. Lockey is interested in nanomedicine, especially researching nanocarriers.

“A nanocarrier is a nanoparticle that has been engineered to hold something—in some cases, a drug—and deliver it to a target, such as a cancer cell,” he said. “The internship was very useful for stuff I’d be doing in the future.”

Lockey worked on several different projects, including helping calibrate a robot that automates assays (experiments or tests). He also optimized and built different assays, including one using E. coli bacteria to see how it would react to novel antibacterial drugs. This allowed him to explore options for new drugs that could not only kill E. coli bacteria but also make it less likely to become drug resistant.

“My favorite part overall was the last day,” he said. “Athari hosted a friends and family presentation day. We got to present our work in what would be a real scientific setting, but it was with the C-suite at Athari and our friends. It was the culmination of everything we did at the company all at once.”

Lockey said that George �鶹��Ƶ prepared him “a million percent” for the internship through both his technical classes and the soft skills he gained during group work and hands-on projects. “The biggest thing I’ve gotten from school was approaching problem solving and thinking like an engineer. Going from an academic setting to a corporate setting, �鶹��Ƶ did a great job in helping us get there.”

And when he got there, the experience was top-notch. “Athari was very warm and welcoming,” he said. “Taking on interns is a big lift for a small company, but they put a huge emphasis on training and developing the next generation. I learned tons of new skills that I didn’t think I’d get to learn.”

Some of these included wet lab experience, assay development, and testing. Not to mention pipette work. “I have shaky hands and they really helped me. By the end, I was pipetting like a pro.”

Topics

CEC internships

Biomedical

College of Engineering and Computing

Bioengineering

Science and Technology Campus

George �鶹��Ƶ interns make a difference at biotech start-ups

Katarina Benson — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 16:54:21 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ interns make a difference at biotech start-ups Katarina Benson Tue, 08/19/2025 - 12:54

This summer, �鶹��Ƶ graduate students rolled up their sleeves in busy labs, learned their way around unfamiliar equipment, and even played a part in moving clinical trials forward, working with start-ups and biotech companies in the recently established Innovation District anchored by the university’s Science and Technology Campus.

Biosciences PhD candidate Ahana Byne worked at Ceres Nanosciences for a second summer. Photo provided

It is part of a program George �鶹��Ƶ’s Graduate Division rolled out two years ago that puts students right in the thick of active research. They work side by side with scientists and get a firsthand look at how research projects come together. Each participating George �鶹��Ƶ research institute accepts around 10 applications. The Institute for Biohealth Innovation leveraged this opportunity to connect five PhD students with life science industry mentors.

Biosciences PhD candidate Ahana Byne returned to Ceres Nanosciences for her second summer, drawn back by the promise of its Nanotrap® technology to catch illnesses before symptoms appear. Ceres Nanosciences is a Manassas, Virginia-based company that’s licensed the university’s proprietary Nanotrap® particle technology and incorporated it into a range of diagnostic and research use products and workflows.

In the lab, Byne moved quickly from planning experiments to reviewing results and fixing problems, a pace far beyond what she was used to in academic research. “In academic settings, you’re usually focused on concocting new ideas and exploring them in depth,” said Byne. “In industry, it’s about clear processes and concrete results. Experiencing both has helped me see more clearly where I want to go next.”

Ben Lepene, Ceres Nanosciences director of research and development, served as Byne’s mentor. Lepene said Byne’s know-how and clear thinking helped the team gather data they rely on to support customers and answer questions about product performance. When asked for his best advice to Byne, Lepene said, “Keep good records and make sure results can be repeated, because in a commercial setting, consistency is everything.”

Ben Lepene, Ceres Nanosciences director of research and development, (left) served as PhD candidate Ahana Byne's mentor. Photo provided

At another Innovation District partner company, Virongy Biosciences, which develops virus-based research tools and diagnostics, bioscience doctoral student Lorreta Opoku spent her internship assembling and cloning alpha pseudoviruses for virology research. Progress came through careful and steady work, with small changes that moved the experiments ahead until the results fell into place.

“Successfully generating and validating my first batch of pseudoviruses was extremely satisfying,” said Opoku. Outside the lab, she spoke with clients, packed orders, and got them ready to send, which helped her learn the practical side of a research company.

At Tracked Biotechnologies LLC, kinesiology PhD student Ahmadreza Souri worked alongside mentor Michael Petr, the company’s CEO and chief scientist. They split their summer days between pilot clinical trials, grant proposals, and Institutional Review Board paperwork. That same brisk rhythm drives the company as it develops AI tools that let scientists, clinicians, and consumers explore human and animal behavior with speed and accuracy.

“Mentorship creates a strong foundation for aspiring professionals,” said Petr. “I make it a priority to teach mentees to the best of my ability and share how we approach commercialization in the context of research.”

Topics

Bioengineering students spend the summer exploring career pathways at AstraZeneca

Jennifer Pocock — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 17:35:31 +0000

Bioengineering students spend the summer exploring career pathways at AstraZeneca Jennifer Pocock Thu, 08/14/2025 - 13:35

George �鶹��Ƶ prepared students for real-world experiences ahead of their senior years.

Ayham Elayan (top) and Eileen Robles (bottom) spent their summers gaining professional experience. Photos provided.

Ayham Elayan and Eileen Robles, bioengineering students graduating from �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Engineering and Computing in December, spent their summer breaks at AstraZeneca—one in operations, and one in the lab. Their experiences demonstrate two of many possible paths in bioengineering.

Elayan is interested in entering the biotech industry when he graduates this winter. He went to AstraZeneca hoping to explore different aspects of the pharmaceutical industry and ended up working on the tech transfer team.

“My team was responsible for the transfer of knowledge of drug manufacturing between sites. If AstraZeneca wants to open a new manufacturing site, for example, we figure out what action or equipment needs to be taken or installed,” he said. “We also make sure that the equipment works and is standardized and nothing affects the medication quality.”

Elayan said that the experience taught him just how many different teams and steps it takes to get reliable drugs to the public. “There were two best parts of the internship. The first was taking my first steps into the industry and getting a lot of exposure and experience,” he said. “The second was meeting so many different people with tons of experience that they shared with me. It’s a global company and I’ve gotten to work with people from around the world.”

Robles’s experience was less strategic and more hands-on, which excited her. “Bioengineering is such a broad field with so many different pathways,” she said. “It was great to experience something you can’t learn in a classroom.”

She interned in a wet lab, working on improving methods to purify a specific protein used in medicines. “I compared two different resins that help capture the protein, tested them for unwanted contaminants, and analyzed the results. The goal was to figure out which resin would work best for making the purification process more efficient, helping ensure future medications are safe and effective.” She said that she hasn't worked on much faculty-led lab research in during her degree program, so the internship expanded her interests and confirmed that "I value hands-on experience.”

Robles said George �鶹��Ƶ was helpful in preparing her not just through relevant classwork, but also by assigning hands-on group work. “That [team work] really helped me to work in this type of environment where you have to collaborate with different people,” she added.

Both Robles and Elayan emphasized that the professional teams they joined were supportive and made them excited for life after graduation. “Everyone there really respects each other and wants to help you out,” Robles said. “I spoke to employees who have moved between different roles. It helped me approach my career with more flexibility and less pressure to find the perfect job immediately.”

Topics

Bioengineering

CEC internships

College of Engineering and Computing

Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing

AI’s blind spots, one PhD student’s clear vision

Ryley McGinnis — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:36:42 +0000

AI’s blind spots, one PhD student’s clear vision Ryley McGinnis Mon, 08/11/2025 - 14:36

When artificial intelligence makes a mistake, the consequences can be annoying—or they can be life-altering. For one �鶹��Ƶ computer science PhD student, the stakes are clear: biased algorithms in health care aren’t just a technical flaw, they’re a human risk. And with internship experience teaching him crucial skills beyond the classroom, Fardin Ahsan Sakib is ready to make a difference in health care.

Sakib’s research in natural language processing (NLP) addresses concerns that many may have when working with emerging large language models (LLMs), but when it is applied to health decisions, there could be deeper negative risks. Tools like ChatGPT pull from vast amounts of information, but they have sometimes been known to “hallucinate,” or make up information.

“Sometimes these systems are taking a shortcut to get you an answer,” said Sakib. “But regardless of where it comes from, it can provide you incorrect information.” And in the health care space, these LLMs could aid doctors, but not when they could be driving improper care.

In electronic health records (EHRs), patients’ diagnoses, medical history, and demographic data are stored and organized. This information includes social determinants of health, like employment status, family situations, or housing conditions, hidden in records.

Fardin Ahsan Sakib is seeking to bring accurate and reliable large language models' capabilities to healthcare.

“These factors can affect up to 80% of health outcomes,” Sakib said. “So it's very important that we can extract them correctly from clinical notes and that the model is not introducing any bias.”

Sakib poses a scenario: A doctor is using an NLP tool to quickly assess a new patient’s health. The LLM is pulling from the patient’s records, and the physician asks the system, “Is this patient a smoker?” The system quickly sifts through the data, and says that yes, this patient is a smoker. The physician then proceeds to make care recommendations based on this information. Maybe they order a lung cancer screening, or they speak with the patient about smoking cessation resources.

But what if that answer was incorrect? The LLM decided to take a shortcut, because, based off the information it has, it discovered that most people with similar demographic data to the patient are indeed smokers, but this one isn’t.

“There are two things at play: bias and hallucination,” said Sakib. “First, algorithms can only use the information they have, and if that information is missing an entire racial or ethnic group, it can be biased. Second, these models can use this biased information to take shortcuts, leading to them delivering false information.”

Sakib isn't simply identifying these problems; he's developing solutions. His recent research on detecting and mitigating shortcut learning in health record processing was accepted for presentation at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL 2025), one of the premier NLP conferences.

That desire to build reliable and trustworthy NLP tools has driven Sakib’s academic work and his professional pursuits.

At Brillient Corporation, where he interned last summer, Sakib worked on creating a retrieval augmented generation system that connected an LLM to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) knowledge base to make accessing and retrieving information faster and grounded in facts. He and his colleagues submitted a patent for this effort.

This summer, he's deep into another high-impact internship at Amazon. “Amazon wants to automate support so that when you ask for help, a large language model can try to solve the problem before handing it off to a human,” he said.

Despite the different settings, he sees clear continuity between his internships and academic work. “The industry experience helps me in my research, and my research experience helps in industry. It goes both ways,” he said. “In academia, collaboration is usually focused within a lab or research group. In industry, I’ve worked with engineers, product managers, and domain experts all at once, spanning from health regulators to AWS cloud architects. That diversity of perspectives changes how you solve problems, and I’ve brought that mindset back into my research collaborations.”

It’s that dual perspective—academic precision paired with industry scale—that he plans to take with him into industry after graduation.

“George �鶹��Ƶ has prepared me for a lot. From day one, all of the professors have helped me grow as a researcher, a person, and as a team member,” said Sakib.

More on AI Research at George �鶹��Ƶ

Topics

Artificial Intelligence

large language models

computer science