Student Profiles

Growing up in the US, Malaysia, and Nigeria shaped Dara’s passion for global health and parasitic diseases. She developed an early interest in research during high school through a project using fruit flies to model type II diabetes in collaboration with Dr. Seung Kim at Stanford University. She earned her B.S. in Bioengineering with a Distinction in Research and Creative Work at Rice University in 2022.

At the University of Texas at Austin, she optimized machine learning models to generate cancer research abstracts through the Research Experience for Undergraduates program with Dr. Lan Luan. She also participated in the NIH Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program to characterize the malaria circumsporozoite protein using atomic force microscopy with Dr. Albert Jin and Dr. David Narum. At Rice, she used CRISPR-Cas9 to study cystic fibrosis with Dr. Gang Bao. Through the Baylor College of Medicine SMART Program, she worked with Dr. Kristy Murray and collaborated with the Belize Ministry of Health to investigate acute febrile illnesses and COVID-19 seroprevalence until the beginning of medical school. 

Currently, Dara is studying schistosomiasis pathogenesis by integrating mouse immunology and human epidemiology. She is committed to advancing equitable healthcare and developing creative, data-driven solutions for underserved populations.

Outside of the lab, she enjoys travelling, going to concerts, and trying new restaurants.