Ryan Zhang

Hello! I'm Ryan, a high school student from Cincinnati, Ohio. I currently attend Sycamore High School, and I love to learn anything related to the brain. In my free time, I love playing piano, watching sports, and reading.
In the top left corner, clicking the blue brain will open my complete CV. Feel free to email me at zhangryan24

gmail

com or reach out on the social media platforms linked at the bottom. Keep scrolling to learn more about me!

Current Projects

Student Researcher @ University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy Jan 2022—Present

Assisting postdoctoral researcher Dr. Linli Zhou with a melanoma research project to understand the mechanism by which melanoma cells evade treatment agents and gain drug resistance. For my role in the lab, I have been doing various molecular and cellular biology experiments, including cell culture, western blotting, genotyping by PCR, and microscopic imaging. I also help with reagent preparation, lab management, and lab cleanup. When needed, I read relevant scientific literature to further my understanding. In October 2023, I jointly presented the findings at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Metastasis Research Symposium.

Poster: BRAFi-induced RAS-mediated non-canonical nuclear β-catenin translocation induces a phenotypic switch in cancer-associated fibroblasts

Presentation Images: Myself, Lab Group

Founder & Content Creator @ The Missing Synapse Aug 2022—Present

Teaching interesting topics and cases in neuroscience with monthly episodes to listeners worldwide. Partnership with Melodies as Medicine helped host a virtual concert for the elderly, which was distributed and played in senior living residences.

Cofounder, Director of Technology, Former Chair @ Greater Cincinnati Cultural Exchange Association Youth Group (GCCCEA) Jun 2020—Present

Founded to promote diversity and help high school students from different backgrounds develop leadership skills, build confidence, drive passion, and better serve the community. I am in charge of maintaining the website, editing & hosting the podcast, and leading local youth events.

Volunteer @ The Jewish Hospital Jun 2022—Present

Filing, organizing, sorting slides, and assisting pathologists/lab technicians with cutting sections when needed as a pathology lab volunteer. Greeting visitors, giving directions, and transport support as a front desk volunteer.

Volunteer @ Bethesda North Hospital Jan 2022—Present

Volunteering at the front desk, I greet visitors & patients, show them to their rooms, and deliver any personal belongings. Furthermore, I help nurses on different floors as necessary, often assisting with discharging patients and transport.

Math Tutor @ BlueIvy Learning Jun 2020—Present

Teaching various math topics from K-6 every week to elementary and middle school students from China.

President @ Science Olympiad Jun 2020—Present

Mentoring and preparing members for numerous local competitions. Leading initiatives to start a junior high team.

Performer @ Piano Jan 2014—Present

Avidly playing piano since second grade. My favorite pieces to play are classical Chinese romances! However, I also enjoy Debussy, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky. In the ten years I have been playing, I’ve successfully reached the Royal Conservatory of Music Level 10. & participated in multiple competitions, including the Crescendo International Piano Competition, where I received second-place honors and was invited to play at Carnegie Hall.

Past Projects

Student Researcher @ UC Santa Cruz Science Internship Program Jun 2023—Aug 2023

Interned for ten weeks in the University of California, Santa Cruz Science Internship Program under the guidance of graduate researcher Pooneh Safayenikoo & Professor Andrew Quinn. I researched how the brain makes decisions and how that can be represented with an artificial neural network. Furthermore, I familiarized myself with neural network calculations like forward pass, gradient descent, and backpropagation. Worked with TensorFlow and JupyterNotebooks. Using these skills, I was able to utilize the MNIST dataset and implement my own neural network from scratch using Python. After reading multiple research papers, my research group and I created a final presentation which was presented live at the UCSC Research Symposium to professors and other interns.

Presentation: CSE-03 Implementing Neural Networks from Scratch and Using Library

Recording: CSE-03 Presentation

Independent Research @ UC San Diego Jan 2022—May 2022

Particpated in a neurobiology mentorship under Dr. Robert Clark, studying various topics in neuroscience, such as basic concepts and terminology in memory, levels of processing, interference effects, mass and spacing effects, imagery, chunking, and mnemonic aids to memory. I read multiple research papers on the physiology of memory, including fear memory, frontal lobes and working memory, and classical conditioning. At the end of the mentorship, I created and presented a slideshow to Dr. Clark discussing fear conditioning as well as recent and remote memory. Using the information I learned, I wrote a review paper on the organization of memory and recent understandings of amnesia. This paper was published in the Journal of Student Research in August 2022.

Presentation: Recent and Remote Memories

Publication: Brain, Memory, and Amnesia

Interviewer & Editor @ "Our Family Kitchen" Cookbook Jun 2022—Apr 23

Completed multiple interviews and collected stories and recipes from many different ethnic members of the local Cincinnati community. Received in the Library of Congress.

Student @ Yale Young Global Scholars Jun 22

Explored a wide variety of scientific fields such as physics, molecular biology, chemistry, biochemistry, astronomy, engineering, neuroscience, immunology, psychology, and earth science. Exposed to interdisciplinary applications across the many scientific fields ranging from the nanoscopic to the astronomical in scale. Courses like "Introduction to Extragalactic Astrophysics" and "Robots that Teach" were most inspiring. Wrote and presented a review on the cognitive function of the brain.

Student @ University of Cincinnati Career Journeys Program Oct 22—Mar 23

Explored clinical and medical careers and engaged with experts in neuroscience, nursing, and therapy. Shadowed internal med, pediatric, and dental physicians.

Software Engineer Intern @ Kyros AI Jun 22—Aug 23

Helped create a Kyros mobile app. Gained valuable javascript, react.js, and full-stack development skills. Studied back-end and front-end development. Learned methods to collaborate and work productively online with others on GitHub and VS Code.

Recognition

Research Poster Presentation @ University of Cincinnati Oct 2023

Selected to present melanoma research findings at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Metastasis Research Symposium.

National Merit Semifinalist @ Sycamore High School Sep 2023

Selected as part of the top 1% of high school student scores on the PSAT National Merit Qualifying test. Qualified with a 1480 - 221 Index Score.

AP Scholar with Distinction @ College Board Jul 2023

Awarded for receiving an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scoring 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

Volunteer Pin @ Bethesda North Hospital Jul 2023

Recieved for contributing 100 & 200 total service hours to the hospitalcumulatively.

Gold President's Volunteer Service Award @ AmeriCorps 2022—2023

Awarded to high school students who dedicated 250+ hours to service.

Catalyzing Impact $6,000 Grant @ ArtsWave Jun 2022

Awarded to GCCCEA to further our arts and heritage projects. The money received from ArtsWave was distributed to fund the "Our Family Kitchen" cookbook publishing/editing costs as well as trips to underprivileged schools around the city to record podcasts, perform dances, and play traditional music to further spread cultural awareness and promote diversity.

Second Place Honors @ Crescendo International Piano Competition Apr 2022

Received second-place honors as one of the top performers out of thousands of applicants worldwide. Originally scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall, but instead played at the University of Michigan due to COVID restrictions.

Honorable Mention @ American Protege International Piano Competition Apr 2022

Awarded an honorable mention for my Chopin Etude Op.10 No.3 performance.

Gold Level Heritage Speaker @ National CLASS Essay Competition 2020—2022

A merit-based, competitive Chinese essay competition. Awarded gold-level recognition in the "Heritage" category for essays discussing the dangers of video game addiction and the impact of COVID-19 on student life.