Brad Cao

Incoming first-year student in the Columbia College class of 2030.

GPA: 4.0 UW / 4.83 W · SAT: 1550

Awarded top poster recognition at one of the nation's premier clinical pharmacology conferences, for research on predictive modeling of serious adverse drug outcomes in stimulant-treated patients.

Placed 1st nationally in the Data Analysis event at the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference, competing against thousands of students across the country.

Received a formal citation from the U.S. Congress in recognition of outstanding community contributions and achievements.

Named to the USA Fencing 1st Team All-American squad in Men's Epee, one of the highest individual honors in U.S. competitive fencing.

Achieved Silver division standing in the USA Computing Olympiad, a highly selective national algorithmic programming competition.

Conducted clinical pharmacology research under faculty mentorship, working with over a decade of FDA adverse event reporting data. The project focused on identifying ADHD patients at elevated risk of serious adverse outcomes from stimulant treatments using real-world evidence. Led the full data pipeline design, feature engineering from raw FDA submissions, and the development and optimization of a random forest classification model. Findings were presented as an award-winning poster at the 2025 ASCPT National Conference.

Cao, B., Lee S., Naga A., Gobburu J., Dunn A.

Cao, B., Gupta P., Dunn A.

Co-developed an open-source disease treatment database now serving 33,000 users across 78 countries. Built symptom-based search functionality and data aggregation algorithms that compile treatment information from multiple medical sources, helping patients and families navigate care options more easily. Visit at mycurehope.org.

Co-organized a global public speaking competition that drew over 2,000 competitors from 32 countries. Managed outreach, logistics, and judging coordination, and raised over $1,000 in scholarships to support student participants from underrepresented backgrounds.

MyCureHope is an open-source disease treatment database built to make medical information more accessible to patients and families worldwide. Rather than requiring users to know their exact diagnosis, the platform allows people to search for potential treatments based on symptoms — a more intuitive approach to navigating complex healthcare information.

The platform now serves 33,000 users across 78 countries. It integrates data aggregation algorithms that compile and organize treatment data from multiple trusted sources, helping individuals identify relevant options and better understand the pathways of care available to them.

Competing nationally in Men's Epee on the North American Cup (NAC) circuit. Ranked Top 30 among cadets nationally (2024 season) and Top 50 among juniors (2025 season).