Research is in her blood

Angi Guo, who moved to the United States when she was in third grade, is contributing to science already as an individual regional finalist of the 2008 Siemens Competition.
Guo, 17, is a senior at Stuyvesant High School and a resident of Bayside. Born in China, Guo first moved to Japan when she was five-years-old. She and her parents, both of whom are researchers, later moved to the United States because of her mother’s work.
It was her parents’ work as researchers that got Guo interested in doing the same. She said that she has a family that is very science-oriented. She also said that she figured since her mother and father both did research she would give it a try.
Because of her interest in research, Guo registered for an elective research class at Stuyvesant High School. Her teacher then told her about the Siemens Competition and she decided to take part in it.
Guo’s project was “Discovery of Action Mechanism of a Small Anti-HIV Compound ADS-J1.” She began learning about HIV through a biology class during her junior year of high school and was then taught more about it in her health class.
“The more I read about it, the more interested I got,” said Guo, who is fluent in Chinese.
For her project, Guo interned for a summer at the New York Blood Center. Her mentor was Dr. Zhi Qi. The focus of Guo’s project was the ADS-J1 compound. She said she explored its mechanism and confirmed that it could be used as an HIV inhibitor.
When Guo found out that she had been selected as an individual regional finalist, she said that she was shocked. She also said that participating in the competition was intimidating because all of the participants were very smart and had “amazing” projects.
“The whole experience was really mind opening,” said Guo, adding that she was about to learn a lot about other research and that she was proud to have been a part of the experience.
Although the research was done over the summer, Guo said overall it took about a year when preparation and post work such as writing a 20 page report are included. She is also still doing work to modify it because she plans on submitting it for other science competitions.
Aside from her research work, Guo is also a member of the school’s dance team, called the Stuysquad and formerly worked for the school paper, The Stuyvesant Spectator.
Guo is also a volunteer with a Housing Works thrift shop. Housing Works assists homeless individuals who have HIV and AIDS.
“I liked what they did with the organization,” Guo said.
Guo said that her goal following high school is to go to college and do well. She said if there is an opportunity to do research she will pursue it.
Although she is open to other areas, she is currently considering majoring in biology or medicine. However, she said that no matter what career she chooses, it will be one that she will enjoy and not get tired of.
“I’m very excited about college,” Guo said.