Kevin Gong

Kevin Gong is an award-winning student researcher and ISEF finalist with extensive experience in competitive science fairs and biomedical research. Across multiple projects in cellular and molecular biology, he earned First Place at both WESEF and NYSSEF and was selected to represent New York at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), where he received a Third Place Grand Award.

His research began with a competitive High School Summer Mentorship Program at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where he studied Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) — using engineered HEK293 cell lines to identify key phosphorylation sites essential for signaling, then investigating the transmembrane domain of ACVR1 using techniques like Western blotting, immunoprecipitation, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy.

He continued as a paid college intern at Regeneron, independently studying ACVR1–ACVR1B heterodimerization across 20+ Western blots and presenting his findings to over 50 professional scientists. He now conducts cancer research in the Won Jin Ho Lab at Johns Hopkins, combining wet-lab and computational approaches to study the tumor microenvironment.

What makes Kevin an exceptional mentor is his track record: roughly 70% of the students he has coached have achieved competitive science-fair success — including one student who won a 2nd Grand Award at ISEF after working with him.