👋 Hi there! I'm @mbertagna, a graduate student at Northwestern University studying Computer Science with an emphasis in ML and AI.

🎓 I have a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Minor in Computer Science from Chapman University.

🧬 From August 2023 to September 2025, I worked with @ltsypin in the Turkewitz lab at the University of Chicago, where I developed the Tetrahymena Gene Network Explorer (tet.ciliate.org/gne.php), a tool for genetic hypothesis generation and functional annotation using Python 3 and R. My role involved processing genome-wide RNA-seq and microarray datasets across the life cycle of Tetrahymena and building statistical pipelines to ensure data quality. I partitioned over 20,000 genes using unsupervised machine learning, fine-tuning hyperparameters to optimize results. Additionally, I designed an interactive Bokeh dashboard with data panels and figures to explore and visualize co-normalized gene expression patterns.

🚀 During the summer of 2022, I worked with @ajeldorado at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build Coralign, a meticulously documented software for automating the alignment of coronagraph optics via test-driven development. My responsibilities included designing an iterative algorithm for aligning the focal and pupil planes, as well as converting existing alignment algorithms from MATLAB to Python 3. I also created a pipeline for generating documentation using Sphinx and NumPy docstrings, managed and reviewed Python 3 code using Git and Github, and implemented continuous integration with Github Actions and Jenkins. To assist future contributors, I created a tutorial, wrote unit tests using the Pytest testing framework, and developed interactive Jupyter notebooks to showcase alignment simulations.

🌱 I'm passionate machine learning and algorithm optimization. In my free time, you can find me creating tools and applications in Python 3, developing 3D models in CAD, 3D printing my models, playing basketball, and hanging out at the beach.

💬 Feel free to reach out to me if you want to collaborate on any interesting projects. I'm always happy to chat and connect with like-minded individuals.

📫 You can contact me via michaelbertagna2025@u.northwestern.edu, and you can also find me on LinkedIn.