Curriculum Vitae

Last updated May 2025

Link to PDF Version of CV

Education

PhD in Statistics 2024 – 2029 (Expected)
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

BA in Mathematics and Philosophy May 2024
Pomona College, Claremont, CA

  • Graduated magna cum laude and with departmental honors (GPA: 3.99/4.00)

  • Undergraduate Thesis: Selecting ChIP-Seq Normalization Methods from the Perspective of their Technical Conditions, advised by Dr. Johanna Hardin (received excellent thesis designation by Mathematics and Statistics Department)

Publications and Manuscripts

  1. Colando, S. & Hardin, J. Selecting ChIP-Seq Normalization Methods from the Perspective of their Technical Conditions. Revise and Resubmit, 2025.

  2. Colando, S. & Hardin, J. (2024). Philosophy within Data Science Ethics Courses. Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, 32(4), 361–373. https://doi.org/10.1080/26939169.2024.2394542

Research Experience

Pomona College Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Research Assistant to Dr. Johanna Hardin May 2022 – Aug 2024

  • Analyzed between-sample normalization techniques by their technical assumptions to improve differential binding analysis practices for ChIP-Seq and similarly structured types of high-throughput data
  • Created reproducible ChIP-Seq read count simulations using R, Bash, and high-performance computing to examine how violating normalization method assumptions impacts the false discovery rate and power of identifying genomic regions with true differential DNA occupancy.

Data Science Ethics Independent Project (Supervisor: Dr. Johanna Hardin) May – Oct 2023

  • Synthesized resources and pedagogies of existing Data Science Ethics undergraduate courses to connect key ethical concepts to data science practices
  • Created a website to effectively communicate data science ethics concepts and relevant background information to a broad community of decision-makers
  • Aided in Pomona College’s development of an ethics course for the recently approved data science minor

Carnegie Mellon University Department of Statistics and Data Science
Research Assistant to Dr. Ron Yurko May – Aug 2023

  • Performing mixture-model clustering analysis to discover trends in movement patterns for injured racehorses
  • Identifying horses who under-raced through residual analysis of a created expected race count model
  • Engaged in 8 weeks of lectures about popular statistical analysis techniques, data engineering, and novel data science methodologies employed in sports analytics

Self-Directed Project
Data Analysis and Visualization CreatorJan 2021 – May 2024

  • Conducting exploratory data analysis in R to improve data visualization and communication skills every week using data provided by the “R for Data Science” Online Learning Community
  • Helping students new to R become more familiar with the programming language and troubleshoot errors in 2-hour Pomona TidyTuesday workshop offered each week

University of California, San Diego Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute
Intelligence, Data, Ethics, and Society (IDEAS) Summer Institute Participant Aug 2023

  • Participated in workshops taught by experts in domains like data science, AI, philosophy, and law to improve critical and interdisciplinary thinking on data science and AI ethics topics
  • Collaborated with three other students on a two-week research project, examining practical methods of implementing responsible data science and AI practices in a California wildfire resource allocation algorithm

University of Michigan School of Public Health
Big Data Summer Institute Research Assistant to Dr. Nikola Banovic June – Aug 2022

  • Collaborated with three other students to implement a partially Bayesian neural network to quantify and communicate prediction uncertainty in a supervised brain tumor segmentation model via Python’s PyTorch and TensorFlow packages
  • Participated in 6 weeks of lectures about ethical data collection practice in healthcare, probability and statistical theory, and the ethical implications of using statistics and computer science methods in healthcare settings

Teaching Experience

Carnegie Mellon Department of Statistics and Data Science
Graduate Teaching Assistant

  • Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Camp (Summer 2025)
  • 36-226: Introduction to Statistical Inference, Head TA (Spring 2025)
  • 36-600: Overview of Statistical Learning and Modeling (Fall 2024)

Pomona College
Course Mentor and Grader

  • MATH158: Statistical Linear Models (Spring 2024)
  • MATH058B: Introduction to Biostatistics (Spring 2023)
  • MATH060: Linear Algebra (Fall 2021)
  • MATH030: Calculus I, Grader Only (Spring 2021)
  • ID001: First-year Interdisciplinary Seminar: I Disagree (Fall 2023)
  • BIOL040: Introductory Genetics with Lab (Fall 2022)

1-2-1 Summer Bridge Program Teacher’s Assistant (Summer 2021)

  • Led 1.5-hour meetings, twice per week, for three small cohorts of incoming Pomona College students
  • Organized group bonding by preparing icebreakers and virtual games for 40+ students in the program
  • Mathematical concepts taught: logic, statistics, calculus I and II, combinatorics, and number theory

Presentations

  • Colando, S. “Predicting Avoidance Ties within Social Networks (ADA Progress Update)”, Networkshop Research Group, Carnegie Mellon University, March 2025
  • Colando, S. & Franke E. “Computational Efficiency of R’s data.table Package”, StatBytes, Carnegie Mellon University, March 2025
  • Colando, S. & Hardin, J. “Philosophy within Data Science Ethics Courses”, CAUSE Webinar Series, October 2024
  • Colando, S., Pipping, J., Wilson K. “Clustering Race Horse Movement Profiles to Discover Trends in Injured Horses”, Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Conference 2023, November 2023
  • Colando, S. “Analyzing Data Science Ethics Pedagogies”, Claremont Center for Mathematical Sciences Poster Session, September 2023
  • Colando, S. “Analyzing Data Science Ethics Pedagogies”, Intensive Summer Experience Symposium, September 2023
  • Colando, S., Pipping, J., Wilson K. “Clustering Race Horse Movement Profiles to Discover Trends in Injured Horses”, Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) 2023 Project Showcase, July 2023
  • Colando, S. Panelist for “Pomona Funded Summer Experiences Informational Session”, Family Weekend, October 2022
  • Colando, S. “Analyzing ChIP-Seq Normalization Techniques through the Lens of their Biological Assumptions”, Intensive Summer Experience Symposium, September 2022
  • Colando, S. “Analyzing ChIP-Seq Normalization Techniques through the Lens of their Biological Assumptions”, Claremont Center for Mathematical Sciences Poster Session, September 2022
  • Chu, C., Colando, S., Nandi, D., Serrano, X. “Quantifying Uncertainty in a Tumor Segmentation Model”, A Symposium on Big Data, Human Health, and Statistics. July 2022

Grants

  1. Colando, S. & Franke, E. Travel Grant 2025
    Amount: $500
    Funder: StatBytes, Carnegie Mellon Department of Statistics and Data Science

  2. Colando, S. & Franke, E. data.table Ambassador Travel Grant 2025
    Amount: $2,700
    Funder: National Science Foundation (Award Abstract: #2303612)

Leadership and Service

Carnegie Mellon Department of Statistics and Data Science
TeachStat Working Group, Mentorship Committee, Mentor for Undergraduates Aug 2024 – Present

Pomona College Department of Philosophy
Search and Selection Committee Member Aug 2023 – Mar 2024

Pomona-Pitzer Athletics
Varsity Women’s Cross Country Team Captain Aug – Nov 2023

Honors and Awards

  • Distinction on First-Year Data Analysis Exam 2025
    • Given by Statistics and Data Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Blair Nixon Award 2024
    • Given to a senior student who exemplifies the high ideals of the College in scholarship, sportsmanship, and organized athletic pursuits.
  • Bruce Jay Levy Senior Prize 2024
    • Given to a senior in the Mathematics and Statistics Department who throughout their time at Pomona has demonstrated a commitment to collaborative learning, fostering an inclusive mathematical community, and to expanding their own academic comfort zone.
  • W.T. Jones Prize in Philosophy 2024
    • In recognition of a senior philosophy major who has shown interest and talent in integrating philosophy with larger humanistic concerns (received for my work in data science ethics and contributions to Pomona’s Philosophy Department).
  • Phi Beta Kappa, Pomona College 2024
  • Sigma Xi, Pomona College 2024
  • Pomona College Scholar 2020 – 2024
  • Pomona College Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field Varsity Letter Recipient 2021 – 2024