My research interests generally lie in the realm of machine learning/computer vision and 1) their applications to healthcare and sustainability, 2) improving the interpretability of models, and 3) improving robustness to limited, biased, or unreliable datasets.
This is a collection of some of my work and research experiences thus far.
* Microsoft Research Intern
Developed a 4D-spatiotemporal neural network robust to domain shifts and limited data to identify which scenes of a movie people will recall later on using fMRI scans taken during watch time.
* Brown Honors Thesis
Currently pursuing a Senior Thesis with Professor
Chen Sun on the topic of increasing model interpretability with limited supervision.
[T. Yun,
U. Bhalla, E. Pavlick, C. Sun. “Do Vision-Language Pretrained Models
Learn Primitive Concepts?”
arXiv.]
* Rosetta Commons REU Intern
Applied Procedural Content Generation via Machine Learning to the tutorial of
Foldit, a game about protein folding and design used to teach biochemstry, to create computer generate levels tailored
for a specific user's difficulty, as a part of the NSF-funded Rosetta Commons Research Experience.
[
U. Bhalla, A. Sarkar, S. Cooper. “Application of Procedural Content Generation via Machine Learning to the Tutorial Levels of Foldit.”
RosettaCon 2020.]
* Barrow Neurological Institute Translation Bioimaging Intern
Analyzed the accuracy and precision of recommended protocols for the acquisition of DSC-MRI images of glioblastomas, metastases, and lymphomas as an intern for Barrow’s Research Program
[N. Semmineh*,
U. Bhalla*, C. Quarles, et al. “Analysis of Accuracy and Precision of Recommended Protocols for Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast MRI for Brain Metastases.”
ISMRM 2020.]
* ASU SGSUP Summer Intern
Analyzed the correlation between the urban heat effect and heat related deaths in Maricopa County with data from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, National Centers for Environmental Information, Maricopa County Air Quality Department, and the Arizona Meteorological Network
[David M. Hondula, Aleš Urban, and
Usha Bhalla. "A Novel Method for Assessing the Health Impacts of Urban Heat".
UWIN 2017.]