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Avery Pong

Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

Avery Pong
Avery is a former wet-lab immunologist and protein engineer currently working on uncovering social network architectures of immune cells in disease models using single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics. Avery is primarily interested in understanding the determinants of intratumoral T-cell infiltration, immune cell organization in inflammatory diseases, and cell-cell communication algorithms that can reveal cellular targets prime for therapeutic intervention. Prior to entering the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology PhD program at UCSD, Avery worked at Neoleukin Therapeutics, where he designed, manufactured, and tested computationally designed de novo proteins that could fine-tune T-cell programs to eradicate cancer cells. Outside of research hours, Avery has been involved in several educational outreach programs throughout his undergraduate career at the University of Washington, where he was involved in NASA and HHMI-funded programs to recruit and retain underrepresented minority students in STEM fields; he continues this effort as a graduate student at UCSD as a member of the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Outreach Committee, a mentor in with the Biology Undergraduate and Master's Mentorship Program, and as an advisor to students in the Nucleate DojoGrants Mentorship program.