Somaia
Saba
Tutor at Wes Carroll Tutoring & Coaching
Somaia Saba, an MIT-trained cognitive scientist and current MD-PhD student, helps students discover that learning isn’t just about mastering content — it’s about falling in love with the pursuit of knowledge itself.
Somaia’s background spans computation, cognition, machine learning, and clinical medicine, which means they’ve spent their academic life finding unexpected connections between disciplines. That instinct shapes how they tutor. When a concept isn’t clicking, they don’t just repeat it louder. They find a different angle, a better analogy, a more familiar frame. Their goal is always the same: get students to that “aha!” moment as fast as possible, and help them see why what they’re learning actually matters in the world.
Somaia’s biography
Teaching Philosophy
Somaia approaches every student as a potential researcher: someone capable of genuine curiosity, not just test performance. As a first-generation student who always had a full life outside of school, they understand that their students are juggling more than academics. Their job isn’t just to teach content. It’s to make the whole thing a little more manageable, and a lot more interesting.
Personal Approach
Somaia starts by learning how each student thinks. Their multidisciplinary training means they can approach the same concept from multiple directions until something clicks. They’re also an active community organizer, and they consistently help students see how the fundamentals they’re learning connect to the world around them. That context, they’ve found, makes everything more meaningful.
Areas of Expertise
- Standardized Testing: SAT, ACT
- AP Sciences & Math: Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, Calculus, Computer Science
- AP Humanities: English Language and Composition, World History, US History
- Other Areas: Research skills and mentorship, science fair preparation
Academic Achievements
Somaia studied Computation and Cognition at MIT, where they received the Academic Excellence and Research Excellence awards from the Cognitive Science Department, as well as an Advanced Undergraduate Research award from the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science department. Their undergraduate research focused on developmental cognitive science and machine learning applications. They are currently pursuing an MD-PhD, continuing to work at the intersection of medicine, cognition, and research.
Before MIT, Somaia competed in regional science fairs and interned at a Mount Sinai Neurodegenerative Disorders lab, experiences that set them on their current path and that they’re happy to share with students who are curious about research early.
Your pathway to success with Somaia involves
The “Aha!” moment
Finding the angle, analogy, or frame that makes a concept finally click.
Learning as a research mindset
Building genuine curiosity alongside the skills to follow it.
Real-world relevance
Understanding why what you’re learning actually matters, inside school and beyond it.
Current Projects
Somaia is currently an MD-PhD student, pursuing research at the intersection of medicine, cognition, and machine learning. They are also an active community organizer, working to connect academic knowledge with practical impact.
- Somaia’s Tufts profile
- Somaia’s undergraduate lab profile
- Somaia’s undergraduate research
- A write-up of Somaia’s mid-pandemic work
Wes Carroll
Cognitive coach and STEM tutor
(415) 937-1729
[email protected]
Available worldwide via video conference
Math Competition Coaching
Experience the joys of elegant solutions and personal expertise before you even learn to drive.
(Math competitions also provide students with unique avenues for entrance into some of the best schools in the world.)
Academic Assistance
Get more out of of tough homework and exams, even in advanced courses like APs and IBs.
AP STEM Support
Work ahead of the rest of the class. Learn for life. Earn your "5".