Arianna Pahlavan

Most excited by the cross-section of machine-learning and biotech devices, Arianna is Co-Founder of the Journal of Computational Biomechanics, owns a Provisional Patent (US62713451), is the lead author of multiple journal publications, and presents at international science conferences. At Columbia Engineering, she plans to major in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on Artificial Intelligence.

Arianna started working on her independent research project at the Glimm Lab of Stony Brook University during her sophomore year. Here, she virtually designed anatomical anomalies to be computer engineered into the widely used but outdated current math model of the human heart. She found that the disruptive presence of these anatomical anomalies multiplied the impact of electric shock and successfully simulated defibrillation with 0.33 volts—something a $9 shock pen could accomplish. Spending her summers and holiday breaks on bringing her ideas to fruition, Arianna progressed to design a blueprint for the first ready-made “epi pen” for cardiac arrest: a low-voltage, low-cost, and artificially intelligent device. Arianna’s three-year research project received both national and international recognition.

Driven by her passion for scientific discovery, Arianna went on to pursue three other main research projects: environmental science, software engineering, and computational neuroscience. (1) At the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Arianna investigated the link between air pollution composition and alteration of neurotransmitter levels for Tehran’s air pollution problem; mainly, the probed effects on neuro-inflammation and impaired memory—behavioral deficits of autism. (2) At CUNY Brooklyn College, funded by Dr. Dmitry Brogon’s Metagenomics Challenge, she designed and programmed MyAED: a smartphone app that can use electrocardiogram data to suggest low-voltage, personalized cardiac defibrillation therapy. (3) Impressed by her presentation at a local science fair, Dr. Milan Toma invited Arianna to conduct research in his laboratory. At the New York Institute of Technology’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, she computationally engineered the vascular structure of the human brain from magnetic resonance angiography data to quantify the cushioning effect in high-impact head trauma. After presenting her research at the end of the summer, Arianna was offered a full-ride scholarship to NYIT.

At Jericho High School, Arianna was President of the Math Team, President and Co-Founder of the Physics Team, a Calculus and Chemistry peer tutor, 5x All-County/All-District qualifying bassoonist, Student Council Treasurer, Ethics Bowl Team Captain, Founder of her school’s national debate team, and volunteer babysitter at MOMMAS House, a local homeless shelter for pregnant teens.