“I began my research when I was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma in April 2025,” Pridgen said. “My work focused on experimenting with various convolutional neural network models, deep learning models that specialize in analyzing visual data, and assessing their classification capabilities to organize data by values on the three main lymphoma subtypes: chronic lymphocytic leukemia, follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma. This experience was impactful toward not just my diagnosis but also understanding the importance of high-level accuracy within clinical applications and the use of computational methods in medical practice.”
This summer, Pridgen will return to Hatch — a company for service businesses working to implement artificial intelligence agents across calls, texts, and emails to drive conversion across the customer experience — where he previously completed an internship as a revenue analyst, as a business operations analyst. In the fall, Pridgen will pursue his master’s in data science at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York City.
Kassam, a Coral Springs, Florida native, will earn dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology, from the college, and human development and family science through the Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. She worked as a research assistant in the Maranges Lab, led by assistant professor of psychology Heath M. Maranges, for three years where she managed study participants, conducted literature reviews, and learned theories associated with moral dilemma decision-making and character traits.
