Understanding the Human Machine

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. In light of this, New York Tech News is highlighting undergraduate biology student Justin Tin to share information about his research on colon cancer as well as his academic journey at the university.

“I’ve always been obsessed with understanding how things work ‘under the hood,’” Tin reflects on his passion for biology. He compares the human body to a computer—separate components that fit together to create a functioning system—calling it “the ultimate biological machine.”

Innovations like the gene-editing technology CRISPR fascinate Tin, but his pursuit of biology at the collegiate level, and later medicine, stems from his belief that “disease doesn’t just cause physical pain, it steals potential.” A witness to several adults in his life with “altered timelines” because of deviations in their physiology, Tin seeks to study the “biological machine” and the tools necessary for intervention and protecting individuals’ lives and aspirations.

On the Long Island campus, Tin is conducting research with Associate Professor of Biological and Chemical Sciences Navin Pokala, Ph.D.Their work investigates the neural mechanisms of decision-making using C. elegans, a tiny, soil-dwelling organism. As they explore how a simple organism’s nervous system processes information to make choices, Tin questions how fundamental neural circuits map onto more complex human behaviors.

“Biology gives me the ‘manual’ for the human machine, allowing me to apply that systems-thinking to patients who can feel the result,” he says. “I want to understand the molecular ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind fundamental shifts in the body so we can prevent those shifts from occurring.”

Outside the lab, Tin serves as a Student Government Association (SGA) senator representing the interests of the College of Arts and Sciences and sits on the SGA’s Campus Life and Engagement committee. He takes these positions seriously and treats them as early training for his future in medicine. He says that, similar to a physician’s work, his roles center on identifying the needs of a community and actively working to improve the environment where people spend most of their days.

As a medical assistant at Newtown Gastroenterology in Elmhurst, N.Y., he performs administrative duties and assists physicians with patient triage and monitors patients’ post-anesthesia. His training phase at the facility created an opportunity to conduct a research study as he noticed patients with a higher body mass index consistently reported diets high in processed foods. With this observation, he sought to scientifically quantify the trend.

Functioning as lead investigator, Tin collaborated with researchers from Newtown Gastroenterology, Carnegie Mellon University, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico to determine whether the rising consumption of ultra-processed foods is directly linked to the obesity epidemic and, consequently, the increasing prevalence of colon cancer. Tin’s tasks included conceptualization and data curation, as well as defining the study’s scope, extracting necessary data, and playing a central role in writing and editing the manuscript. After one and a half years of research, “Ultra-processed food, obesity, and colon cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” was published in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology.

“I bridged the gap between the individual patients I work with at Newtown and the macro public health issues that affect millions,” he explains. “The study’s impact is about shifting the medical paradigm from treatment to prevention. It’s about removing the environmental traps that lead to disease so people can protect their health before it’s compromised.”

Tin will soon graduate, and he looks forward to deepening his impact on community health. On his agenda for post-graduation life is improving his Spanish and Mandarin language skills, pursuing a medical degree—specifically, a dual degree with either an M.B.A. or Master of Public Health—and merging the clinical and systemic fields he’s studied. When it comes to a residency, Tin has an open mind but is drawn to gastroenterology and primary care.

“I am incredibly excited for the tangible reality of patient care. I’m also excited about the evolution of medicine itself,” he says. “I’m excited to become a physician who doesn’t just work ‘in’ the system but has the tools to work ‘on’ the system, too.”