In high-stakes roles, Jessica Liu found her niche at the nexus of medicine and computing

Jessica Liu always thought she’d study computer science in college, but the chance to work as an intern with a surgical team revealed a different pathway.

Jessica Liu loved her high school AP computer science class so much that she was leaning toward studying computer science in college. But then a life-changing internship the summer of her sophomore year at Yale College opened her eyes to the possibility of career in medicine.  

As a Kadoorie Cardiovascular Summer Intern at Houston Methodist Hospital, Liu worked in the hospital’s Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Department, doing rotations with surgeons, one of which gave her a chance to participate in a trip to harvest a donated lung for transplant. 

“It was a fantastic window into cardiovascular health,” said Liu, a Phi Beta Kappa pre-med student, graduating with a degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. “One Saturday they called, we took a plane to the partner hospital with a small team. I took on the role of a medical assistant, washing out the body to give the surgeon a clean visual. I got to hold the lung. Before that experience, I thought surgery was not for me.” 

Now Liu plans to attend medical school but will first take a gap year during which she’ll work with a team affiliated with the Yale Cancer Center, gathering data, quantifying under-treatment of patients based on eligibility criteria, and helping to build a machine learning model that enables continuous monitoring of high-risk patients. 

For Liu, such internships during her time at Yale have revealed a niche in medicine that taps into her interests and strengths. She also received a research fellowship with the Oktay lab during her sophomore year, which showed her how she could incorporate her interest in computer science into medicine and translational research. She was introduced to the subject by her mother, geophysicist turned software programmer, when she was a teenager. Her mother’s perseverance in what was then a largely male-dominated field, Liu said, also inspired her.  

“Computational biology and bioinformatics is what I ended up doing,” she said. “I really fell in love with it after taking a biochemistry class and really connected with it. Biochemistry is more for detail oriented people. I love system-level knowledge, the way pathways are connected.” 

Liu’s numerous awards and fellowships also include a Senior Mellon Grant for Thesis Research, a Phi Beta Kappa Merit Scholarship, and a National Merit Scholarship. She recently presented at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. 

Outside the academic realm, Liu’s achievements are equally impressive. During her tenure at Yale, she launched and ran the Acorn Café Bakery, a student-powered enterprise showcasing the talent and creativity of student bakers at Silliman College, where she is a resident. The college café served only tea and coffee prior to her starting the group. Adding the baked goods warmed up the space and created a sense of community. 

She has also volunteered with Infinite Strength, a national nonprofit that supports single mothers with metastatic breast cancer, and Haven Free Clinic, a student-run free clinic at Yale. 

Liu is keeping an open mind about what specialty she’ll take up after medical school, but is thinking about oncology, women’s health, or cardiovascular health. The cultural exposure and learning taking place outside the classroom is what she loved most about her time at Yale.   

“Creating positivity and community are the lessons I will take away from Yale,” she said. “I did a lot of exploring of courses, so that informed my perspective, but honestly, for me, Yale is about the people. For me the value is my friends, and the co-workers, and teams that I built here.”