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Emil Cacayan
Bioinformatician | Computational Biology & Scientific Software Engineering | Emergency Medicine Professional
Professional Summary
Interdisciplinary computational biology and healthcare professional with experience spanning emergency medicine operations, bioinformatics pipeline development, statistical genetic, machine learning, and scientific software engineering. Background combines hands-on clinical experience in high-acuity emergency and prehospital environments with computational work involving genomic analysis workflows, reproducible bioinformatics pipelines, machine learning applications, and scientific visualization.
Experienced working in operationally demanding systems requiring rapid decision-making, interdisciplinary coordination, and systems awareness. Technical work focuses on computational genomics, workflow automation, data preprocessing, linkage disequilibrium analysis, GWAS/QTL integration, and scalable scientific computing workflows. Additional interests include scientific communication, educational technology, interactive visualization, and computational approaches to biological systems.
Particularly interested in the intersection of:
- computational biology
- genomics and statistical genetics
- machine learning for biological systems
- healthcare systems
- software engineering
- reproducible comptuational pipelines
- scientific communication and visualization
Education
Loyola University Chicago
M.S. Bioinformatics — August 2026
Relevant Coursework: Computational Genomics • Statistical Genetics • Quantitative Bioinformatics • Machine Learning • Transcriptomics • Scientific computing
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
B.S. Bioinformatics — August 2023
Relevant Coursework: Object-Oriented Programming • Software Design Patterns • Genetics • Molecular Biology • Statistics • Computational Problem Solving
Technical Skills
Computational Biology & Bioinformatics:
GWAS/QTL Colocalization • LD Analysis • SNP Harmonization • PLINK • coloc • SuSiE • VCF Processing • Transcriptomics • RNA-seq Workflows • Seurat • Statistical Genetics • Reproducible pipelines
Machine Learning & Quantitative Analysis:
scikit-learn • Classification Modeling • ROC/AUC Analysis • Feature Engineering • Statistical Modeling • Cross-Validation • Exploratory Data Analysis
Web Development & Scientific Visualization:
Next.js • React • Typescript • Vercel • Markdown/MDX • Interactive Scientific Visualization • Structural Biology Visualization
Technical Strengths
Computational Biology & Technical Projects
Genomic Colocalization Pipeline Development
Developed modular statistical genetics workflows integrating GWAS and QTL datasets for scalable colocalization analysis. Pipeline work included LD matrix generation, SNP harmonization, allele matching and strand-flip handling, VCF preprocessing, PLINK integration, and coloc/SuSiE workflow preparation using 1000 Genomes reference datasets. Emphasis placed on reproducibility, automation, and maintainable pipeline architecture.
RNA-seq Transcriptomics Pipeline
Developed an RNA-seq transcriptomics pipeline for data ingestion, alignment, quantification, and downstream analysis using Python, R, and standard bioinformatics tools.
ALDH2 Structural Analysis
Structural analysis of the ALDH2 E487K mutation using PyMOL and PDB structures to evaluate dimer interface disruption, NAD+ binding effects, and catalytic function.
Machine Learning Classification Pipeline
Developed a machine learning classification pipeline with feature engineering, preprocessing, model evaluation, and deployment using scikit-learn.
Fetal Health Classification (R)
Statistical modeling and machine learning analysis of cardiotocography (CTG) data to classify fetal health outcomes and identify clinically relevant patterns.
COVID-19 Severity Clustering
Applied principal component analysis (PCA) and K-means clustering to COVID-19 epidemiological data to identify patterns in pandemic severity and group countries based on shared outcome metrics.
Professional Experience
Loyola University Chicago - Computational Genomics Research Intern
Chicago, Illinois
Contributing to computational genomics and bioinformatics workflow development under Dr. Yoel Stuart. Current work involves mitochondrial genome analysis, biological sequencing data organization, workflow automation, comparative genomics support, and scalable processing of genomic datasets. Gained experience in scientific infrastructure development, reproducible computational workflows, and collaborative research-oriented software development within a biological research environment.
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital - Emergency Department Technician
Downers Grove, Illinois
Support physicians, nurses, and interdisciplinary clinical teams in a high-acuity emergency department environment. Responsibilities include EKG acquisition, STEMI workflow support, phlebotomy, IV placement assistance, specimen collection, laboratory workflow coordination, patient monitoring, and emergency department logistics. Developed strong systems-level awareness of emergency medicine operations, interdisciplinary communication, and high-pressure clinical workflow management.
Superior Air-Ground Ambulance - EMT-B
Illinois
Provided prehospital emergency medical care and patient transport support across field and interfacility environments. Experience includes patient assessment, BLS interventions, oxygen administration, stabilization, EMS documentation, hospital handoff communication, and operational decision-making in dynamic clinical settings.
Illinois Department of Human Health - Personal Assistant
Champaign, Illinois
Assist with activities of daily living for person with spinal muscular atrophy. Tasks included preparing meals, cleaning, feeding pets, and assistance with using the restroom.
Volunteer Experience
Crisis Text Line - Crisis Counselor Volunteer
Remote
Completed formal training in crisis intervention, emotional de-escalation, active listening, safety assessment, and structured crisis communication. Volunteer work emphasized empathetic communication and maintaining composure in emotionally high-intensity interactions.
Leadership & Involvement
Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC) - Loyola University Chicago
Remote
Participate in graduate student advocacy and communicate initiatives involving collaboration between students, faculty, and administration.
Scientific & Technical interests
Computational Genomics • Statistical Genetics • Transcriptomics • Machine Learning for Biology • Scientific Software Engineering • Healthcare Systems Operations • Workflow Automation • Scientific Visualization • Reproducible Computational Research • Bioinformatics Infrastructure • Biological Data Engineering
Certifications & Clinical Training
Emergency Medical Certifications: National Registry EMT (NREMT) • Illinois Department of Public Health EMT-Basic (IDPH EMT-B) • Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) • Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) • Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) • Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS)
Clinical & Crisis Training: Crisis Text Line Counselor Training • HIPAA • Bloodborne Pathogens • ED Clinical Skills Training
Clinical Systems & Technical Experience: Epic EHR • EKG Acquisition & Cardiac Monitoring • STEMI Protocol Exposure • Phlebotomy and Specimen Collection • IV Placement Assistance • Emergency Department Workup Coordination