International student uses machine learning to build models to improve vision

Growing up in a middle-class family in Punjab, India, Avneet Virk understood from early childhood that her social status allowed her access to a better education than most students in her country who attended public schools.

She quickly decided to use her private-school education to provide opportunities for the less fortunate.

While in high school, Virk, who graduates in Spring 2025 with a degree in statistics and a certificate in business analytics, started a nonprofit tutoring group in India that, with the permission of the Indian public-school administrators, provided after-school teaching in STEM subjects, primarily mathematics.

“The public schools in India teach very rudimentary topics and many of the students do not get a thorough training in mathematics,” Virk said. “The organization I formed gives after-school math lessons to students who want to learn more or exceed what they were being offered in public schools.”

Her organization, called Blessed, quickly grew from a small number of tutors to a cadre of 25, and it’s still growing. Virk pops into classes during breaks at U of I when she flies home to Punjab to visit her family.

For Virk, an education equates to opportunity and her drive pushes her to use her opportunities to improve the lives of those around her. Back in Moscow, Virk’s dedication to applying her knowledge has transferred to several internships including one at Moscow’s local hospital, and two in the College of Science.

At an internship with Gritman Medical Center, Virk applied her statistical and analytical skills to crunch and organize data to make the human resources department hum more efficiently. In Summer 2024 a paid research scholarship allowed her to work with molecular biologist and professor in the College of Engineering, Jagdish Patel, exploring how light-sensitive proteins may help visually impaired people see better.

The research I want to do after graduation will tackle real world problems related to health care and agriculture. Avneet Virk, mathematics undergraduate

“Avneet’s project aims to understand how microbial rhodopsins — light-sensitive proteins in the human eye retina — function and how their properties can be tailored for neuroscience applications,” Patel said. “These proteins enable precise control and monitoring of brain cells using light.”

Patel and his team specialize in optogenetics, which is a technique that uses light to control cell activity in living organisms.

To enhance the effectiveness of the rhodopsin proteins absorbed by the retina, Virk used a classical machine learning algorithm to analyze protein amino acid sequence data. She wanted to predict the wavelengths at which the proteins reach peak absorption. The more the protein is absorbed, the better the eye can see.

In the future, Virk’s and Patel’s work could help design custom proteins to improve vision.

“Although the work is not yet complete, Avneet’s research has brought us closer to obtaining a machine learning model that can predict peak absorption,” Patel said. “This may ultimately allow us to design custom rhodopsins that respond to specific wavelengths, optimizing their use in optogenetics for improved neuronal control and research.”

Virk’s research included entering large amounts of data to develop biological models that will help predict how proteins react in a variety of situations.

“Avneet seamlessly employed her expertise in machine learning to predict functional properties of protein, demonstrating a strong ability to apply quantitative methods to solve complex biological challenges,” Patel said.

Virk said the research in Patel’s lab was in line with her future plans.

“The research I want to do after graduation will tackle real world problems related to health care and agriculture,” she said.

Virk said she became interested in sustainable crop production as a child visiting her grandparent’s farm in India.

She plans to attend graduate school after receiving her bachelor’s degree this spring, despite knowing that several more years in a U.S. university means being apart longer from her family. She said the dedication and sacrifices of her family — including the guidance of her grandfather, a former colonel in the Indian Army who died this semester — shaped her journey that started with educational opportunities as a child all the way to her studies at U of I.

“When I first came here it was so hard as a single child to be away from my parents, so I was pretty homesick,” she said. “My parents set me on this journey to the U.S., and I carry their dreams with me.”

Virk found that — alongside traveling home during the holidays — involvement in student organizations helped her overcome her homesickness. Virk is the international student ambassador and leader of the Indian Student Association on the Moscow campus. The group meets regularly, shares local meals from their home regions and organizes events and social functions.

“When students are feeling homesick, I connect with them. That’s one of my jobs — to make sure new students don’t feel homesick,” she said. “The International Programs Office here on campus is pretty strong and helps us make these, sometimes, life-long connections.”

Virk’s dedication to academics and her fellow students hasn’t gone unnoticed by her peers and professors.

She received the Alumni Award for Excellence 2024, Joe Vandal Spirit Award and several scholarships through the Department of Mathematics and Statistics including the Malcolm and Carol Renfrew Endowed Scholarship in Mathematics and the Eugene and Osa Taylor Mathematics Scholarship.

Article by Ralph Bartholdt, University Communications

Photos by Garrett Britton, University of Idaho Visual Productions