Graduate Student • Data Analytics & AI

Hello!
I’m Dalton Payne.

I’m passionate about using data and AI to solve real-world problems. My background blends biomedical science, analytics, and hands-on machine learning. I thrive on building practical solutions, learning new tools, and collaborating across disciplines.

Portrait of Dalton Payne

Selected Projects

Projects that reflect my curiosity, technical growth, and drive to make data actionable. I enjoy tackling challenges in predictive modeling, NLP, computer vision, and data engineering.

Trojan Horse Hunt in Time Series Forecasting

Trojan Horse Hunt in Time Series Forecasting
- Top 13% -

Secure Your AI competition (European Space Agency): reconstructed trojan triggers injected into satellite telemetry forecasting models. Explored adversarial poisoning in multivariate time series using anomaly detection and robust model analysis.

  • Reverse-engineered triggers from poisoned models using spectral and statistical methods.
  • Benchmarked reconstruction accuracy against reference models and sample solutions.
  • Documented findings and contributed to open-source reproducibility.
Time SeriesAI SecurityEuropean Space AgencySatellite Telemetry
FlightRank 2025: Aeroclub RecSys Cup

FlightRank 2025: Aeroclub RecSys Cup
- Top 18% -

Kaggle competition to build personalized flight recommendations for business travelers. Developed a group-wise ranking model to predict which flight option a user would select from thousands of alternatives, balancing price, schedule, airline, and policy constraints.

  • Engineered features from pricing, timing, route, and user attributes.
  • Implemented ranking algorithms to surface relevant options for each search session.
  • Optimized for ranking quality to place the chosen flight at the top of each session.
Recommendation SystemsClassificationBusiness Analysis
CMI - Detect Behavior with Sensor Data

CMI - Detect Behavior with Sensor Data
- Top 22% -

Child Mind Institute competition: predicted body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) from wrist-worn device sensor data. Built models to distinguish BFRB-like gestures from everyday movements using IMU, temperature, and proximity sensors.

  • Engineered features from movement, temperature, and proximity sensor streams.
  • Trained models to differentiate BFRB-like and non-BFRB-like activity across multiple body positions.
  • Ranked in the top 22% on the ongoing leaderboard.
Sensor DataTime SeriesClassification
RSNA Intracranial Aneurysm Detection

RSNA Intracranial Aneurysm Detection

Kaggle competition to identify and localize intracranial aneurysms using CTA, MRA, and MRI data. Built deep learning pipelines for 3D medical image analysis, leveraging spatial localization and vessel segmentation labels. Currently ranked in the [your percentile here] percentile on the ongoing leaderboard.

  • Developed preprocessing and augmentation for multimodal series (CTA, MRA, T1/T2 MRI).
  • Trained models for detection and localization across 13 anatomical sites.
  • Integrated vessel segmentation for improved spatial accuracy.
Computer VisionMedical ImagingDeep LearningKaggle
Brain Tumor MRI Classification

Brain Tumor MRI Classification

Deep learning model for automatic classification of brain tumors from MRI scans. Fine-tuned ResNet-50 to distinguish glioma, meningioma, pituitary tumor, and no tumor. Achieved 99.2% test accuracy using transfer learning, data augmentation, and robust evaluation.

  • Transfer learning with ResNet-50; custom head for 4-class classification.
  • Data augmentation: flips, rotations, color jitter for generalization.
  • Comprehensive metrics: precision, recall, F1-score, confusion matrix.
Medical Imaging Deep Learning ResNet-50 PyTorch
Movie Data Analysis and Prediction

Movie Data Analysis and Prediction

Analyzed a dataset of 16,000 movies and built predictive models for movie ratings and genres using Python (pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, matplotlib, seaborn, nltk). The project covers data cleaning, preprocessing, EDA, visualization, outlier removal, and machine learning for rating and genre prediction based on movie titles and descriptions.

  • Explored trends: movies released per year, rating distributions, top genres, duration vs. rating.
  • Visualized key insights with line plots, histograms, bar charts, and regression plots.
  • Developed Ridge regression and Logistic Regression models to predict ratings and genres from titles/descriptions.
  • Custom inference function for predicting ratings/genres for new movies.
Data Analysis Visualization Machine Learning Python

Reddit Sentiment Analysis for Tech Stock Prediction

Reddit Sentiment Analysis for Tech Stock Prediction

Analyzed Reddit comments about major tech companies and correlated sentiment with stock prices (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon). Used Hugging Face transformers for sentiment analysis and Yahoo Finance for stock data. Explored how online sentiment relates to stock performance with visualizations and predictive modeling.

  • Performed sentiment analysis on Reddit comments using transformer models.
  • Fetched and analyzed stock data (returns, moving averages) from Yahoo Finance.
  • Studied correlations between Reddit sentiment and stock returns.
  • Visualized stock trends, sentiment indicators, heatmaps, and scatter plots.
  • Developed linear regression models to quantify sentiment impact on stock returns.
NLP Sentiment Analysis Finance Visualization Python

Experience

Adult Education Adjunct Instructor · South Florida State College

Nov 2024 – Jul 2025

  • Delivered instruction in adult education programs, supporting diverse learners in achieving academic and career goals.
  • Developed lesson plans and assessments tailored to individual student needs.
  • Collaborated with faculty and staff to enhance curriculum and student engagement.

Undergraduate Research Assistant · Computational Biology Lab, University of Central Florida

Sep 2023 – Feb 2024

  • Assisted in developing and validating machine learning models for genomic data analysis.
  • Automated data preprocessing and machine learning pipelines using Python to improve reproducibility.
  • Collaborated with faculty and graduate students on research projects involving bioinformatics and computational genomics.

Education

M.S. Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence

Nova Southeastern University · 2024–2026

  • Foundations of Programming, Data Structures, and Algorithms
  • Database Systems
  • Data Warehousing
  • Data Mining
  • Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence
  • Data Visualization
  • Fundamentals of Cybersecurity
  • Ethics in Computing
  • Deep Learning

B.S. Biomedical Science

University of Central Florida · 2018–2024

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics
  • Microbiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology
  • Medical Terminology
  • Cell Biology
  • Immunology
  • Bioinformatics

Licenses & Certifications

Data Analyst Associate

DataCamp · Issued Feb 2025 · Expires Feb 2027
Credential ID: DAA0012821874740

Google Advanced Data Analytics Specialization

Google · Issued Jun 2023
Credential ID: NZB4BN6MX277

Skills: Machine Learning · R (Programming Language)

Google Business Intelligence Professional Certificate

Google · Issued May 2023
Credential ID: TDA5UCLD4WLW

Skills: Tableau · Data Visualization · BigQuery · Business Intelligence · ETL · Business Analysis · SQL · Data Modeling

Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

Google · Issued May 2023
Credential ID: FMYYBZDXMSHD

Skills: SIEM · Linux · Python · Intrusion Detection · SQL · Security

Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate

Google · Issued May 2023
Credential ID: K3CWJBXU44AT

Skills: Tableau · Machine Learning · R · Spreadsheets · Data Cleaning · Data Organization · Data Analysis · Visualization · SQL

Let’s connect

I’m open to internships and research collaborations in data/AI. The fastest way to reach me is email.

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