James Choi, Developer in Vancouver, BC, Canada
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James Choi

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Machine Learning Developer

Location
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Toptal Member Since
October 26, 2018

James enjoys the challenges of extracting value from real-world datasets by wielding the latest machine learning and artificial intelligence tools in the Python stack. He has extensive experience in scientific research in academia and industry and thrives in collaborative teamwork.

Portfolio

MW Coach
Performance Management, Data Management, Business Intelligence (BI), SQL...
GN Science
Amazon SageMaker, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon EC2, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Fast.ai...
Revalesio Corporation
MATLAB, Databases, Research

Experience

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Amazon Web Services (AWS), MacOS, Linux, Vim Text Editor, Atom, Python, Git

The most amazing...

...thing I've worked on was applying my neuroscience expertise to develop new methods in the characterization of charge-stabilized nanostructures (nanobubbles).

Work Experience

Consultant/Advisor

2023 - PRESENT
MW Coach
  • Developed a data management framework to track and manage document assets for Official Development Assistance projects.
  • Contributed to development projects across central and south Asia, Africa, and South America, conducting feasibility studies, project planning research, and stakeholder interviews to establish performance metrics and monitor projects.
  • Generated reports, proposals, dashboards, and surveys; conducted stakeholder analyses, established project requirements, and developed competency matrices to help bring projects to success.
  • Created digital tools and process pipelines to enable small teams to leverage technology effectively. Adopted generative AI models to aid in report generation.
Technologies: Performance Management, Data Management, Business Intelligence (BI), SQL, Data Extraction

Data Scientist

2017 - PRESENT
GN Science
  • Created a neural network-based text classifier and text summarizer with transfer learning (using Fast.ai and Amazon SageMaker) for a client's proprietary data.
  • Built a data pipeline to scrape (ETL) more than 1 million PDFs from a website to model and rate a financial broker's integrity using the AWS platform (EC2, RDS, DynamoDB).
  • Implemented new clustering algorithms for the identification and characterization of neuronal cell types.
  • Developed and managed digital marketing campaigns (Facebook Ads, Google, AdWords Search/Display/Video), for big-budget (more than $100,000/month) clients.
  • Implemented A/B testing to optimize the customer journey through a conversion funnel.
Technologies: Amazon SageMaker, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon EC2, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Fast.ai, Python, Data Pipelines, Computer Vision, Google Sheets, Databases, Artificial Intelligence (AI), SQL, Data Extraction, PDF, Large Language Models (LLMs), Research, AI Modeling, Object-oriented Programming (OOP)

Scientist

2010 - 2013
Revalesio Corporation
  • Set up electrophysiology laboratory facilities for in-house ion channel screening.
  • Established a semi-automated patch clamp pipeline for membrane-based target screening using proprietary cell lines.
  • Coordinated studies with leading institutions and CRAs to elucidate the biophysical mechanism of action for nanobubble therapeutics.
  • Contributed actively to the physical-chemistry characterization of nanoparticles in solution.
  • Devised new detection methods using nanopores.
  • Detected and characterized cardiomyocyte activity modulation for A/B testing.
Technologies: MATLAB, Databases, Research

Postdoctorate Fellow

2006 - 2007
Boston Children's Hospital | Harvard Medical School
  • Conducted single-cell-patch-clamp experiments on tissue slices from the mammalian visual thalamus.
  • Devised stereotactic injection techniques for the focalized injection of viral vectors.
Technologies: MATLAB, Neuroscience, Databases, Research

Current and Previous Projects in Data Science

http://q0j0p.github.io
This is a blog that documents all of the projects that I have tackled thus far.

Paradigms

Data Science, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), CRISP-DM, Business Intelligence (BI)

Other

Software Development, Data Extraction, Research, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Supervised Learning, Machine Learning, GPT, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), Computer Vision, PDF, Large Language Models (LLMs), AI Modeling, Neuroscience, Clustering, Big Data, OCR, Performance Management, Data Management

Languages

Python, Python 3, Python 2, SQL

Libraries/APIs

Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn, PySpark, Fast.ai

Tools

GitHub, Git, Google Sheets, Atom, Vim Text Editor, MATLAB, Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR), Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), AWS Glue, AWS CLI

Platforms

Amazon EC2, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, MacOS, Jupyter Notebook

Storage

MongoDB, Data Pipelines, Databases, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), PostgreSQL

1998 - 2005

PhD Degree in Neuroscience

Brandeis University - Waltham, MA, USA

1993 - 1998

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biochemistry and Cognitive Science

Rice University - Houston, TX, USA

MARCH 2018 - PRESENT

Data Science

Galvanize

OCTOBER 2014 - PRESENT

TESOL

International Language Academy of Canada Vancouver‎

Collaboration That Works

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