Hello! My name is McKell Woodland. I am a PhD student in Computer Science at Rice University. I research in the Morfeus lab at MD Anderson Cancer Center under Dr. Kristy Brock* and Dr. Ankit Patel†. My research is primarily focused on the responsible integration of deep learning-based models into a clinical setting.
I received my bachelor’s degree in Applied and Computational Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 2018. It was during this degree that I fell in love with data science. I have interned in data science roles at Microsoft (2020), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2019), 3M Health Information Systems (2018), and the National Security Agency (2017).
I am passionate about computer science education for those in all walks of life. In the last 4 years, I have tutored over 200 students from elementary schoolers to community college professors in AI and Python through The Coding School (a non-profit that I serve on the young professional advisory board for). In 2022, I piloted an online machine learning course for BYU-Idaho. In 2021, I was a research mentor for the Summer STEM Institute. In 2019, I received an award from Utah Governor Gary Herbert for my service as a Utah STEM ambassador. In 2018, I founded a program through BYU’s service organization called Kids Who Code. Long term, I dream about becoming a data science professor.
On a more personal note, I am a huge fan of the Utah Jazz and USWNT, I love all outdoor adventures, and am grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
* MD Anderson Cancer Center, Imaging Physics
† Rice University, Electrical Engineering; Baylor College of Medicine, Neuroscience