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Rachel Mak-McCully
Rachel Mak-McCully has always been fascinated by the brain and driven by a belief that people should be empowered to use their health data to make better decisions about their care. She earned her PhD in Neurosciences from UC San Diego, where her work was supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a Chateaubriand Fellowship for research in France. A
fter transitioning into data science, Rachel’s work has spanned three health tech start-ups from digital cognitive testing (Neurotrack), wearables for multiple sclerosis care (Octave), and technology to accelerate clinical trials (Unlearn). Across these roles, she has focused on building rigorous, data-driven tools that advance health innovation.
Beyond her professional work, Rachel is passionate about outreach and community learning. She champions women in AI by encouraging hands-on practice and learning in public, helping to make the field more approachable and inclusive. She has spoken at AI and health events hosted by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, Women in Data, and on the WOMEN x AI podcast.
Insights from Rachel about the power of community:
When I attended my first Women x AI event, I had just posted on LinkedIn: “Are you one of the 1.5 billion people who’ve downloaded scikit-learn?” Fierce debate followed about whether downloads equaled people. In the “Building Confidence in AI” breakout, I shared that this kind of reaction is exactly why people are afraid to post. The moderator’s reply has stayed with me: “We love the haters. Do you know why? Because every time they comment, their entire network sees your post. So bring on the haters.”