Having been diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 17-year-old high school senior Dustin Liang used knowledge from an MITx calculus course to interpret aspects of his own treatment. During his chemotherapy treatments, Liang studied the MITx class on Calculus 1A: Differentiation, allowing him to estimate his blood cell counts and providing potential insight into his ongoing treatment according to MIT News.
Despite his diagnosis in June and various hardships, including grueling treatments and extensive hospital stays, Liang decided to undertake his calculus course to ensure he filled his school's four-year math requirement. Liang utilized the calculus methods he learned unraveling ways to predict his blood cell count as reported by MIT News.
Supported by his mentor Jiawen Sun, who is actively working in trading simulation and stock market modeling, Liang was able to practically juxtapose the estimations derived using a quadratic approximation to his actual blood test results. The results are promising, as the mathematical approach accurately forecasted blood cell counts. With this method, Liang anticipates that these predictions could alleviate cancer patient anxiety and assist doctors in developing more effective treatment plans.
Upon completing the Calculus 1A: Differentiation course, Liang impressively scored full marks on his final exam. Liang, who's still undergoing chemotherapy, registered for the subsequent MITx Calculus course, aiming to study pre-med in college and later become a cancer researcher as stated by MIT News.
