Sasha Bacot

Class of 2025
Majors in Biology and Computer Science

My name is Sasha — I’m studying biology and computer science with a particular interest in computational biology/bioinformatics. One of my favorite things about Duke is the chance to do undergraduate research. I am a Scholar in Marine Medicine in the Nicholas School of the Environment, where I investigate ultraviolet-induced mtDNA mutagenesis, and I’ve also conducted summer research at Boston University Bioinformatics through a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) funded by the National Science Foundation. Outside of conducting research, I’m a senior editor for the undergraduate research journal (Vertices), activity coordinator for the Biology Cultural Association, and SAGE peer facilitator for CS 201. In my free time, I like collecting bumper stickers, reading sci-fi, and exploring for new music!

Favorite Class: My favorite class at Duke has been STAT 102, Introductory Biostatistics. I took this class during my freshman spring, and it was the first time I really got to see the connection between biology/medicine, statistics, and computing. This class is great for pre-meds, but non pre-meds (like me) still gain some very valuable skills: coding with R, selecting statistical tests, and interpreting data.