About Me

Welcome! My name is Elise Hachfeld, and I’m a student in the Individual Major Program at St. Olaf College where I’m earning my B.S in Bioinformatics with a concentration in Statistics and Data Science. My work focuses on applying computational methods to genomic data.

Research

My research integrates biology, computer science, and data science through projects such as:

  • Developing image processing workflow for detecting lipid droplets in Tetrahymena thermophila cells
  • Fine-tuning a convolutional neural network to classify images of lichen from iNaturalist.com
  • Streamlining a simulation model on altruism in animal populations

Currently, I am working on methods of analyzing whole genome sequencing data. My research interests also include cybersecurity, data privacy in human genomics, and the impact of misinformation on social media.

Personal Life

Outside of academics, I enjoy growing native Minnesota plants, researching genealogy (especially for the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia), watching movies, drawing, and spending time with my two cats.

Close up image of a pink milkweed flower.
Common Milkweed – (Asclepias syriaca) in Rosemount, MN