JoshWhiteley
Building computational tools at the intersection of machine learning, pharmacology, and translational medicine to accelerate tuberculosis drug development.
About Me
Turning data into discoveries that save lives.
I'm a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University, working in Professor Bree Aldridge's lab. My research focuses on leveraging computational modeling and machine learning to predict and optimize tuberculosis treatment regimens.
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, I earned my B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I first discovered the power of combining engineering principles with biological sciences through cancer research and COVID-19 surveillance.
When I'm not building models or analyzing data, you'll find me exploring car culture, hanging out with my cats, or planning my next travel adventure.
Research Focus
Where computation meets medicine
TB Drug Regimen Optimization
Developing computational frameworks to model drug interactions and predict optimal multi-drug tuberculosis treatment combinations, accelerating the path from bench to bedside.
Machine Learning for Drug Discovery
Applying ML and deep learning techniques to predict drug mechanism of action, growth environment dependence, and treatment efficacy from high-dimensional biological data.
Computational Biology Pipelines
Building reproducible, scalable analysis pipelines for biological data processing, from raw experimental outputs to actionable insights for translational research.
Statistical & Data Analysis
Rigorous statistical modeling of experimental data including survival analysis, multi-variate regression, and Bayesian approaches for biological hypothesis testing.
Journey
The path so far
PhD Student
Tufts University
Transitioned to PhD track in the Aldridge Lab, developing computational models for tuberculosis regimen optimization using ML and pharmacokinetic modeling.
Master's Student
Tufts University
Joined Professor Bree Aldridge's lab to develop tools for understanding drug mechanism of action and growth environment dependence.
B.S. Bioengineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering with emphasis in cell and tissue engineering.
Undergraduate Researcher — COVID-19
UIUC
Contributed to COVID-19 surveillance and research on a campus of 40,000+ individuals, helping model and track pandemic spread.
Undergraduate Researcher — Cancer
Cancer Center at Illinois
Worked under Professor Rohit Bhargava studying FTIR spectroscopy and developing computational tools for cancer tissue analysis.
Technical Skills
Tools of the trade
Languages
ML & Data Science
Tools & Infrastructure
Visualization
Open Source
GitHub Activity
Contact
Let's connect
I'm always open to discussing new research collaborations, data science opportunities, or just having a great conversation about computational biology.