I'm a microbiology student at BYU graduating in April 2026 with a passion for oncolytic virotherapy and translational cancer research. My goal is to bridge the gap between clinical diagnostics, computational biology, and cutting-edge cancer immunotherapy research to help develop more effective treatments for cancer patients.
- Finishing my BS in Microbiology at BYU (graduating April 2026)
- Undergraduate research in bacteriology, virology, immunology, and proteomics
- Building expertise in Mass Spectrometry and other advanced high-throughput techniques
- Planning my transition to a biotech industry role in Utah
Check out my Personal Repository for more details on these projects:
- Bioinformatics Learning-- Projects from my journey learning Python, R, and computational biology
- Research Notes-- Documentation of my learning in cancer biology, virology, and immunology
I have also built BYU MS Core Lab for my proteomics lab's data analysis needs:
- HEY (Hela, E. Coli, Yeast) protein intensities fold change analysis for instrumentation performance quality control
- Unify workflows for existing and competing computational proteomics tools as a part of our data analysis pipeline
- 💼 LinkedIn: Connect with me on LinkedIn
- 📧 Email: toshuyi@gmail.com
- 🧬 GitHub: You're already here! Feel free to explore my projects and repositories
He/Him
- Organic chemistry & biochemistry - strengthening prerequisites for PhD programs
- Cancer biology & immunology - Reading Nature Immunology, Nature Cancer, and key textbooks like Oncoimmunology
- Python & R programming for genomic data science - through online courses and personal projects
- Data science & machine learning - building computational skills to complement wet lab expertise
- Research projects in virology, immunology, or cancer biology
- Open-source bioinformatics tools for genomic data analysis
- Cancer research initiatives that bridge computational and experimental approaches
- Educational resources for students pursuing non-traditional paths to PhD programs
- Networking with scientists working in oncolytic virotherapy or cancer immunology
- Advice on PhD applications from people who took non-traditional paths (industry experience before PhD)
- Bioinformatics project ideas that could strengthen my computational biology skills
- Mentorship from translational scientists who bridge clinical and research worlds
- Career planning for non-traditional paths to PhD programs
- Balancing work and graduate school (I'll be doing MS part-time while working full-time!)
- Biotech industry experience as a foundation for translational research
- Oncolytic virotherapy and cancer immunology (my passion!)
- Flow cytometry and immunology lab techniques
- Building a sustainable timeline for long-term academic/career goals
- 🔬 I'm building a clinical-computational-research triple threat skillset that very few scientists have
- 🌱 I'm passionate about mentoring students from non-traditional backgrounds who want to pursue research careers
- 🍳 I enjoy cooking (with or without recipes), gaming, reading and hiking in my free time!
Most PhD candidates choose one of these paths: - Traditional route: BS → PhD directly (age 22-28) - Clinical route: BS → clinical work → maybe PhD later - Computational route: BS → MS in Bioinformatics → PhD
My hybrid approach: - BS Microbiology → Biotech Industry Work → MS in Translational Bioinformatics (while working) → PhD in Oncolytic Virotherapy → Industry R&D Leadership + Adjunct Teaching
This gives me industry biotech expertise, computational biology skills, AND research training - the perfect combination for developing therapies that actually make it from the bench to the bedside! 🚀
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." - Chinese Proverb
I'm planting my tree now at age 26, and I'm excited to see it grow into a career advancing oncolytic virotherapy research! 🌳🔬