{"id":18311,"date":"2025-09-25T14:40:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T18:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/?p=18311"},"modified":"2025-10-09T16:47:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T20:47:51","slug":"expanding-omds-learning-facilitators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/2025\/09\/25\/expanding-omds-learning-facilitators\/","title":{"rendered":"CDS Expands the OMDS Learning Facilitators Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re excited to expand the Learning Facilitators team for the Online Master\u2019s in Data Science (OMDS) program, welcoming new members\u2014Apoorva Gupta<\/a>, Vishnupriya Kasireddy<\/a>, and Neeza Singh<\/a>\u2014and celebrating the promotion of Will Mackin<\/a><\/span>. Collectively, they bring a dynamic mix of academic achievement, research experience, industry expertise, and teaching talent. From advancing Legal AI and fintech analytics, to integrating generative AI into writing instruction, to modeling ecological systems, to teaching computer science fundamentals, each of them brings unique strengths that will enrich the OMDS learning environment and support student success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to welcome these talented professionals to CDS and uplift a member of the OMDS team. Their diverse perspectives and deep commitment to teaching will not only enhance the learning experience for our master\u2019s students, but also strengthen the collaborative spirit that defines our community,\u201d said Micah Sieber<\/a>, Assistant Provost of Graduate Programs and Academic Planning. \u201cTogether, they represent the interdisciplinary excellence at the heart of data science education at Boston University.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meet the dedicated team of Learning Facilitators supporting BU\u2019s next generation of data science leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Apoorva Gupta, OMDS Learning Facilitator<\/h3>\n
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Apoorva Gupta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I first forayed into teaching as a Teaching Fellow for Data Mechanics during my master\u2019s program at BU, and ever since, my passion for it has only grown stronger. As a Learning Facilitator in the OMDS program, I have had the privilege of working with distinguished faculty and students from diverse backgrounds. This experience has not only strengthened my confidence but also reinforced my belief in the transformative power of data-driven decision-making in shaping the world.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Apoorva joined CDS in July of 2025. He graduated from the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences with a Master\u2019s degree in Data Science, where he was a BU Teaching Fellow and a Merit Scholar. His work focused extensively on higher-dimensional vector spaces to advance semantic search and deliver hallucination-free results, particularly in the domain of Legal AI.<\/p>\n

Previously, Apoorva worked at Turing, where he spearheaded projects on Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF) and Supervised Fine-Tuning for xAI, as well as at PhonePe\u2014one of India\u2019s largest fintech companies\u2014contributing to merchant compliance, growth, and acquisition analytics at scale. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vishnupriya Kasireddy, OMDS Learning Facilitator<\/h3>\n
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Vishnu Kasireddy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“What I enjoy most about being an LF for the OMDS program is the privilege of walking alongside students on their academic and professional journeys. It is incredibly fulfilling to see their ‘aha’ moments, and to know I have played a part in helping them master complex concepts and apply them with confidence.”<\/em><\/p>\n

In July of 2025. Vishnupriya joined CDS as an OMDS Learning Facilitator. She holds a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Biology and Applied Mathematics, as well as a Master\u2019s degree in Biology, both from Marshall University. While at Marshall, she conducted research in plant phylogeny and neuropharmacology, publishing her first paper as a first author during her undergraduate studies. She also conducted research focused on modeling and predicting the reproductive success of freshwater mussels in the Ohio River, based on environmental attributes. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Will Mackin, OMDS Senior Learning Facilitator<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Headshot
Will Mackin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“My favorite part of being a learning facilitator is watching the progress of students throughout the program. Seeing students go from learning the basics of programming to creating advanced machine learning models is very rewarding.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Will became part of the Online Master\u2019s team in 2024 and promoted to Senior Learning Facilitator in September. They hold both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Computer Science from UMass Amherst, and while studying there, worked as an undergraduate course assistant for Probability & Statistics and Artificial Intelligence, and worked as a grader for Algorithms, Game Theory, and Fairness, as well as Information Systems. They also taught Python to children aged 9-14 at an academic summer camp for two summers during their undergraduate studies. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Neeza Singh, OMDS Learning Facilitator<\/h3>\n
\"Headshot
Neeza Singh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat I enjoy most about being a Learning Facilitator is that I\u2019m constantly learning alongside my students. They bring diverse backgrounds and industry experience, which gives me new perspectives on data science. I find it exciting to see how OMDS students apply real-world experience, reminding me that teaching really is one of the best ways to learn.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Neeza joined the OMDS team in July 2025 after earning her BS in Data Science from CDS<\/span>. As an undergraduate in CDS, Neeza was an AI Teaching Fellow in the inaugural AI Affiliate Teaching Program, where she developed and delivered weekly lessons for English faculty and students, creating practical strategies to integrate generative AI into writing, research, and classroom instruction. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Online Master’s in Data Science (OMDS) Program is excited to welcome four new Learning Facilitators. Read about their achievements, research experience, industry expertise and more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25279,"featured_media":18348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,864,1],"tags":[525,544,487,332,606,892],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25279"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18311"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18584,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18311\/revisions\/18584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}