Haihley Connors

Home Institution
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year Participated
2021

Year in School
Undergraduate

REU Faculty Mentor
Zeynep Madak-Erdogan

Research Area Interest
Data and Information Systems

Project Title
Resolving Racial Health Disparities by Using Advanced Statistics and Machine Learning On Complex Multidimensional Datasets

Biography & Research Abstract

Abstract:

African American women with breast cancer experience significantly higher mortality and metastasis rates than Non-Hispanic White women. This, the lack of research on African Americans and Fuvlestrant therapy, along with many other disparities led us to our research question of do African Americans respond differently to Fulvestrant when compared to Non-Hispanic White individuals. By reviewing epidemiological evidence and using an MD Anderson dataset to analyze data, generate survival curves, and complete statistical analyses, we found that Non-Hispanic White women had significantly higher probabilities of survival than African American women and these results showed evidence of a disparity.

Bio:

I'm a rising junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and I’m an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Zeynep Madak-Erdogan's lab where I study estrogen receptor positive breast cancer and the effects of it on African American women. I’m pre-med with hopes to become an oncologist in an urban area to provide care to the less fortunate! I’m also the vice president of a student organization called I-Heal where we promote health awareness and give students pre-health career resources. Overall, I enjoy being involved on campus, connecting with others, volunteering, and learning new things!