Maya Orzach (Levy) : Building Things for People
Also known as "Maya from Miami, it's catchy!"
At MIT Sundai, we ship and build artificial intelligence tools every single Sunday. We're a growing 3,000+ member community that focuses on rapid AI prototyping, education, and startup acceleration, having launched 250+ AI MVPs in 120+ weeks.
At Sundai, I've personally led a biotech-themed hack, upskilled my own AI expertise through over a dozen prototypes, and pitched ideas nearly every week in front of live audiences. Come join us as we build and tool every Sunday... at Sundai!
Led AI workshops for life scientists and clinicians at Harvard Business School, Boston Children's Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Helped over 80 people go from limited AI exposure to getting comfortable using AI applications in their day-to-day operations.
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Developing multifunctional RNA therapeutics for metabolic and age-related diseases using the FORGE platform, Functional Optimization by Recursive Genetic Evolution, integrating phage-display with generative AI. Collaboration with Novo Nordisk valued at up to $354M, targeting next-generation precision cardiometabolic therapies.
At Gensaic, Maya fine-tuned an ML image segmentation algorithm to score drug candidates using microscopy data for better optimization and iteration.
Executed end-to-end single-cell genomic screens to map the immune system for machine learning & AI drug discovery.
Built a scientific tool to analyze clinical trial data for the Sentinel device, continuous, noninvasive kidney function monitoring.
"Maya has been a great help to us. She is highly motivated, intelligent, and fun to work with. She is working on a scientific tool to analyze our clinical trial's data. The long-distance work is challenging, but Maya manages her tasks and schedule in the most professional way possible. I couldn't be prouder of her quick progress and learning skills." — Sagie Meshulam, VP of R&D MIT News
Studied cell-cell communication, pattern formation, and organogenesis. Worked under Ron Weiss, Deepak Mishra, Nika Shakiba, Jan Lonzaric, and Shiva Razavi.
Developed a preventative dental treatment inhibiting biofilm formation by developing a genetic logic gate, triggering an anti-plaque cascade. Won Bronze.
Ran a two-week synthetic biology bootcamp for incoming iGEM freshmen team, teaching cloning, mammalian cell culture, and circuit design from scratch. Coached the team to victory! Won Gold.
TA'd the core Biological Engineering course at MIT, covering computational and experimental analysis of biological systems across genetic, molecular, cellular, and population scales. The course focuses on modeling complex dynamic systems and protein design/engineering, including gene sequence analysis, molecular modeling, metabolic and gene regulation networks, and signal transduction pathways. This class was taught in Python & MATLAB.
Built a non-invasive continuous glucose monitor to measure sugar in tears for patients with diabetes. Used FDA-validated analyses to determine clinical accuracy. Led both two years of clinical studies to evaluate the medical devices I built in my garage, testing tear and blood glucose levels across both diabetic as well as non-diabetic participants.
Presenting to
U.S. Surgeon General
Vivek Murthy at
Florida State Science Fair
2015
Award-winning research
on my CGM contact lens
→
Founding exec member of MIT's premier contemporary student theater group. Non-musical plays, free to the Cambridge community. All skill levels, from the ground up.
"Maya Levy authored much of the group's constitution while on a GTL Italy trip." — lost.mit.eduCo-wrote a play that was written, rehearsed, and performed in 24 hours.
"The spirit of MIT is to do things because you want to — even if they are pointless and especially if they are hard."— Maya, interviewed by The Boston Globe
12 productions, 2017-2021. Scenic painter to set designer to actor-director.
Led MIT's peer health advocate program, supporting student well-being and connecting people to campus resources.
Traveled to Mantua, Italy through MIT's Global Teaching Labs program to teach high schoolers about genetics and cell biology. Taught over 300 students across 4 weeks.
In charge of MIT's egalitarian Jewish group for three years, organizing weekly minyan services, monthly events, and outings. Kept the group alive despite the global pandemic!
Painted a "Tree of Life" for the MIT Religious Center. →
Find Maya's murals deep in the MIT tunnels! The Borderline Mural Project is a 200-foot-long installation of 60+ murals painted by MIT-affiliated artists in the underground corridors between Buildings 66 and E17. New murals are added each semester, with some featuring augmented reality animations viewable through the Artivive app.
Volunteer mentored students over Zoom during the global pandemic. Met one-on-one twice a week with multiple middle school students to give guidance and mentorship.