Chris Yang is a rising sophomore at Duke University double majoring in computer science and statistics with a concentration in data science. He is also a Coding it Forward Civic Digital Fellow this summer, working remotely from Herndon, Va., with John Prue, chief information officer for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR).
Yang is working on a multi-faceted project with Prue this year. “It's like a natural language processing machine, learning projects, app, development, all in one,” he explained. “Essentially we have a lot of text data at the moment, and we're trying to classify these ticket requests as either information seeking or support seeking.”
Yang is also pulling in data from different domains – information technology, human resources, budgets, and more – and using Microsoft Azure’s language understanding platform, LUIS.
“It will be able to predict user intent based on the responses that it receives and we're hoping to develop an agent that will be able to classify the text that it receives based on the message that a user sends it,” Yang said.
The goal is to apply natural language processing and machine learning techniques to ultimately build a machine that can offer expedient support to users who submit IT tickets.
For Yang, the project is perfectly aligned with his career goal of becoming a data scientist. “It's very exciting, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it,” he shared. “I currently do have a very strong interest in the intersection between data science, data, science and biomedical research.
“Perhaps one day I'll see myself back on Bethesda’s campus.”
The aspiring data scientist was surprised to learn just how much work goes into keeping biomedical data secure, commenting that the fellowship has given him a greater perspective on the way the government handles its data.
“It's also showed me that while there are many regulations put in place, following those guidelines can still lead you to plenty of opportunities for data analysis and to access those resources in an appropriate way,” Yang added.
When he isn’t dialed in to Zoom calls with Prue or with other fellows, Yang is taking care of himself in a few ways to prevent “Zoom fatigue.” One strategy he uses is yoga and meditation to keep himself healthy. His other strategy is a surprisingly fun escape – watching YouTube videos of people playing Minecraft.
“I used to play a lot of Minecraft,” Yang admitted. “It was like an obsession of mine, and now when I watch it, it’s almost like I’m playing again.”
Finally, it’s clear that Yang is practicing gratitude. The Coding it Forward Civic Digital Fellowship is traditionally a 10-week, in-person experience, but the fellows have worked remotely this summer like much of the knowledge workforce has due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Although it's far different from what I initially anticipated the fellowship to be, I think that through this, we've been able to take the most out of the situation and grow from it,” Yang said.
The Office of Data Science Strategy at NIH works with institutes and centers like NIDCR and with Coding it Forward to bring fresh perspectives to tackle computational challenges facing the biomedical research workforce each summer. ODSS will feature fellows and mentors from the 2020 cohort throughout the summer. Meet Chris's mentor, John Prue.
