The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter recently held its fourth K–12 student summer project program. The goal of the program—started by former chapter president Li Zhang in 2019—is to provide students with mentoring from chapter officers and volunteers during student-designed projects.

The kick-off meeting for the 2022 program took place June 4. During the meeting, students were introduced to the program objectives and assigned to mentors. Throughout the next two weeks, students worked with their mentors to brainstorm ideas, lay out a project plan, and finalize their data sources. During the three months of summer, students worked toward their objectives. Their efforts culminated in project presentations on September 11, 2022, via video conference.

Students presented the following work to chapters members and gained feedback:

Detecting Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s Patients Using Machine Learning Methods

• Anurag Jakkula, 11th Grade, Dublin High School

Mentors:

• Ron Yu, Executive Director of Biostatistics, Gilead Sciences; Director of Public Relations for SFASA
• Dong Xi, Statistical Adviser, Gilead Sciences

The Relationship Between GDP and Mental Disorders Globally

• Vivian Wang, 12th Grade, Aragon High School

Mentor:

• Jerry Ping, Director of Biostatistics, Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie Company

Comparison of Private and Public Colleges in the United States

• Anna Khodakovskaia, 9th Grade, Lycée Français de San Francisco
• Amelia Surdulesku, 9th Grade, Lycée Français de San Francisco

Mentor:

• Tao He, Associate Professor of Statistics, San Francisco State University

Relationships of Sleep Patterns and Demographics: A Case Study of Undergraduates from Taiwan

• Elaina Li, 9th Grade, San Mateo High School
• Avelyn Liang, 10th Grade, San Mateo High School

Mentor:

• Ray Lin, Principal Statistical Scientist, Genentech/Roche; Past President of SFASA

For additional information about the mentoring program, email sfasaofficers@googlegroups.com.