Chinasa T. Okolo

I am a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University, co-advised by Nicki Dell and Bharath Hariharan. I came to Cornell after receiving a degree in Computer Science from Pomona College in Spring 2018. After graduating, I completed a summer internship at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England where I worked in the Biological Computation group, helping to develop computational models and domain-specific computational tools for bacterial quorum sensing. I am currently supported by The National GEM Consortium, Oracle Corporation, and NANOG.

In undergrad, I conducted research at the University of Georgia, Pomona College, Columbia University, and Carnegie Mellon University in fields ranging from computational neuroscience to human-computer interaction. My research interests include computer vision, global health, machine learning, and information & communication technologies for development.

I develop machine learning models to improve the rapid diagnosis and treatment of infectious and tropical diseases. These models are integrated into mobile health applications that aid community health workers in low-resource regions, fundamentally altering the way patients with these issues are managed and treated. I also use computer vision methods to recognize fine-grained human respiratory motions and work on research projects to analyze the applications, implications, and perceptions of AI-enabled healthcare deployed throughout the Global South and North.

I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri to Nigerian immigrants. I proudly graduated from Lincoln College Preparatory Academy and the KCPS Early College Academy at MCC - Penn Valley, earning both a high school diploma and Associate's degree. For fun, I like to sing, update my blog, read intriguing articles, travel the world, and scroll down my Twitter feed.