Research Assistant
Houston Methodist Research Institute
Joseph Cave, MS, Graduate Research Assistant, Weill Cornell Medical College & Houston Methodist Research Institute.
My interdisciplinary academic background, encompassing physics, computer science, and quantitative pharmacology, has uniquely positioned me to tackle complex biomedical challenges through computational innovation. At the University of Warwick, my undergraduate studies in physics provided me with a rigorous analytical and statistical skill set, which was crucial for my subsequent transition to a Master’s in Computer Science. Here, I specialized in deep learning-based image analysis and computational pathology, culminating in a dissertation that employed graph convolutional networks to classify Hodgkin Lymphoma tissues from 3D cell-surface data. This work demonstrated the powerful synergy between computer vision and medical diagnostics.
Recognizing the potential of advanced computational techniques to improve therapeutic strategies in nanomedicine, I pursued a Ph.D. in Physiology, Biophysics, and Systems Biology at Weill Cornell Graduate School, where l leveraged machine learning and mechanistic modeling to innovate drug delivery systems for complex diseases. In collaboration with the Mathematics in Medicine program at Houston Methodist Research Institute, I am at the forefront of rationalizing nanoparticle design to optimize therapeutic biodistribution and minimize toxicity, with significant implications for treating diseases such as non-small cell lung cancer (J. Cave et al., IEEE, 2023).
My engagement with industrial settings has reinforced my academic foundation, enhancing my computational and quantitative skills through innovative, collaborative research at world-class institutions, including CERN, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Bluefruit Software, and my Alma Mater. For instance, at CERN, I collaborated with Dr. Elżbieta Banaś to develop a SCADA GUI interface for the ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) detector. Our work, now integral to the operations of the ATLAS particle accelerator, was recognized with a first-place award at the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences.