Sydney Pun

Sydney Pun

My name is Sydney Pun and I am the Research Data Analyst at the Center for Social Innovation. I graduated from UCR with a Computer Science degree in March 2021. I find it interesting that in the subdivision of Computer Science known as Data Science, this field can combine data visualizations and other data-driven strategies to bring a voice to underrepresented communities.

I’m from Walnut, CA which is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County. On campus, I am an Undergraduate Researcher for Dr. Wenxiu Ma. We are using statistical methods to analyze big data motivated by genomics. Specifically, we are analyzing Hi-C data. Hi-C data is often used to analyze genome-wide chromatin organizations, such as topologically associating domains, linearly contiguous regions of the genome that are associated in the 3D space.

What inspires me about the work that our community partners are doing is that their work is aimed at strengthening the Inland Empire’s economy and society. For instance, the Inland Empowerment is a coalition of civic engagement organizations that are aimed towards using data-drive strategies to empower historically ignored and disenfranchised communities. I’m optimistic about the growth of the Inland Empire’s economy and society. Most importantly, I am optimistic that the Inland Empire will become an area that blossoms into a more multicultural and inclusive community.