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Manuela Merlo

PhD Student

University of Zurich

I hold a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Polytechnic University of Milan, with a transformative Erasmus semester at KU Leuven, where I deepened my expertise in machine learning and AI, and developed an appreciation for Belgian waffles. Passionate about bridging the gap between AI and healthcare, I dedicated my Master’s thesis to applying reinforcement learning for adaptive models in clinical settings. Since September 2025, I have been part of the Krauthammer Lab, working on protein optimization design and AI-powered radiology tools.

Outside the lab, I enjoy cooking (I am Italian, after all 🤷🏻‍♀️) and try to make time for the gym, otherwise I’d never keep up with all that good food!

Interests

  • Machine Learning
  • Reinforcement Learning
  • Large Language Models

Education

  • M.Sc in Computer Science and Engineering, 2025

    Polytechnic Universtiy of Milan

  • B.Sc. in Engineering of Computing Systems, 2022

    Polytechnic Universtiy of Milan