ABOUT ALEXANDRIA JOHNSON

My name is Alexandria Johnson and I’m an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida majoring in Applied Mathematics. I am proficient in MATLAB and Excel and I have research experience in mathematical modeling for prostate cancer. I have good leadership skills and experience and I love to get involved in my local community. My goal is to earn a PhD and implement research in mathematical biology. I am passionate about groups of people who face health disparities and that is where I want to center my research.

Aspiring Mathematical Biologist

Goals

My goals are to become proficient in more computer languages, earn a PhD in Mathematical Biology, and conduct research in Mathematical Biology with a focus in health disparities.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In February of 2023 I was awarded with a first place prize for an undergraduate poster in data science, convergence science, and mathematics
In January of 2020 I was awarded with a certificate of apprecition from the American Legion Post 46 at the 25th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. The award was for my outstanding service and assistance which contributed to the advancement of the community programs and activities dedicated to God and Country.
In December of 2019 I recieved My Associate of Arts Degree from St. Petersburg College.

RESUME

ASSOCIATE OF ARTS DEGREE

Recieved 12/2019

St. Petersburg College | Tarpon Springs, FL

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: MATHEMATICS

Expected 05/2024

University of South Florida | Tampa, FL

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

09/2021 – present

Moffitt Center Mathematical Oncology Department | Tampa, FL

Mentored by Dr. Renee Brady
Project focused on comparing prostate specific antigen dynamics between black and white patients on continuous androgen deprivation therapy.
Utilized excel to complete propensity score matching for the white and black patients to include more white patients that were similar to the black patients.
Optimized patient data to see which parameters in the model should be uniform or patient-specific based on the AIC score.
Determined if there was any significant difference in the parameter values between black and white patients.
Simulated intermittent androgen deprivation therapy (IADT) to see if black patients show a greater benefit from IADT.
Conducted and in silico study to further validate any results

SPIRIT RESEARCH INTERN

06/2021-8/2021

Moffitt Center Mathematical Oncology Department | Tampa, FL

Mentored by Dr. Renee Brady.
Project focused on comparing prostate specific antigen dynamics between black and white patients.
Utilized excel to complete propensity score matching for the white and black patients.
Optimized patient data to see which parameters in the model should be uniform or patient-specific based on the R2 value.
Determined if there was any significant difference in the parameter values between black and white patients.

RESEARCH PROJECT

03/2019 - 05/2019

St. Petersburg College Bridge to Baccalaureate Program | Tarpon Springs, FL

Mentored by Amy Kelley.
Research project in oversaturated fields in the Tampa Bay Area.
Collected and compared data from enrollment in schools for certain majors and projected job growth for careers related to those majors.
Used data to determine oversaturated fields in the Tampa Bay Area and come up with possible solutions.

DANCE COACH

10/2018 - 02/2020

The Cole Link Foundation Golden Linkettes | Tarpon Springs, FL

Build up girls’ confidence and self-esteem through dance.
Teach the girls responsibility, accountability, and commitment.
Mentor girls to be upstanding citizens of their community.

MATH TUTOR

11/2018 - 12/2019

Tarpon Springs Middle School | Tarpon Springs, FL

Supported students by identifying and addressing specific concerns.
Attended to students in classroom to maximize support.
Communicated with the teacher about student progress in individual and group sessions using student feedback and assessments.
Instructed small groups of students in key subject concepts.

FIRST PLACE UNDERGRADUATE POSTER AWARD

02/2023

2023 Emerging Researcher National Conference (ERN) in STEM | Washington DC

Awarded 1st place poster prize for undergraduate poster for data science, convergence science, and mathematics at the ERN conference in Washington DC.

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION

01/2020

American Legion Post 46 at the 25th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration | Tarpon Springs, FL

Award in recognition and appreciation of outstanding service and assistance which contributed to the advancement of the community programs and activities dedicated to God and Country.

RESEARCH TRAINEE

06/2019 – 08/2019

Moffitt Center Mathematical Oncology Department | Tampa, FL

Mentored by Dr. Renee Brady and Dr. Heiko Enderling.
Worked with Dr. Brady on modeling prostate cancer.
Learned how mathematics is used to predict how a patient will respond to intermittent androgen deprivation therapy.
Worked in MATLAB on a model that was a little different from Dr. Brady’s original model.
Determined the predictive power of that model and compared it to the predictive power of Dr. Brady’s original model.
Used patient data to determine their exponential growth and decay of PSA when they are off and on treatment.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

I was first a research trainee in 2019 at the Moffitt Center in the Integrative Mathematical Oncology Department. I worked on a project related to Intermittent Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer. Here I began to learn how to utilize mathematical models to predict and describe patient response dynamics and how the power to predict responses to various treatment techniques such as treatment cycling chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy may result in improvements that minimize complications and extend survival.

I have since continued working at Moffitt since 2021 investigating if PSA dynamics differ between black and white prostate cancer patients. I enjoy participating weekly journal clubs and collaborations where I receive constructive feedback for fellow lab members.I hope to continue to work in a collaborative environment like this through grad school and wherever my professional career takes me. Another unique opportunity I've had is hearing from patient advocates who represented patients’ individual needs and feelings. This has provided a reminder to not get too caught up in just the math and remember that I am doing this to help real people.

CONFERENCES

One of my favorite parts of research is the opportunity to attend conferences. Making new connections and learning about the new and exciting research is an invaluable experience. Ensuring that I'm able to translate my research to all kinds of people is important to me and conferences have given me the opportunity to do this by bringing people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together.