Angela Zhang (born 1994) is an

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

scientist who in 2009, at the age of 14, began to research at Stanford University. By 2011, Zhang's research won the $100,000 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, and earned her widespread notability for her research on cancer treatments with iron oxide gold

nanoparticle A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is usually defined as a particle of matter that is between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 10 ...

s. She graduated from Harvard in 2016, and is now at Stanford University.

Education

While attending

Monta Vista High School Monta Vista High School is a four-year public high school located in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino, California, US. Part of the Fremont Union High School District, the school serves most of the suburban residential and industrial technology ...

, Zhang was reading doctorate papers on bio-engineering and attending scientific conferences; by the age of 14, she had begun to work as a member of Stanford's research team. In the fall of 2012, Zhang attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where she majored in

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

and graduated in 2016, after which she returned to Stanford University to participate in the 2016

Medical Scientist Training Program The Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs) are dual-degree training programs that streamline the education towards both clinical (typically MD) and research doctoral degrees. MSTPs are offered by some United States medical schools, who are aw ...

Career and work

During high school, Zhang worked with a Stanford graduate student to research the cancer-fighting potential of a single

. In 2011, at age 16, she entered her cancer-killing nanoparticle research into the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, where she won first prize and a $100,000 scholarship, and the

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Each May, more ...

, she also won first prize. She was the only female finalist in the Siemens competition that year. The following year, at the age of 17, Zhang went to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

and presented her research to then-

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. As an undergrad at Harvard, Zhang and a group of other Harvard students continued to grow her nonprofit "Labs on Wheels" concept, which she had started in 2012. It was made to provide refurbished lab equipment to American high schools. Labs on Wheel has garnered grants from Harvard and was the first place in the 2013 Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business Innovation Competition, and a finalist in the 2015 Harvard President's Challenge. Zhang presented the concept at the 2013 TEDxSan Jose.

Major contribution

Zhang's research includes her exploration of the cancer-fighting potential of a single nanoparticle, which is known as the iron oxide gold nanoparticle. During her time at Stanford, while still in high school, Zhang and the team found that this particular nanoparticle is able to do two valuable things. It can detect cancer and the nanoparticle can deliver chemotherapy drugs more efficiently to the cells.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Angela Cancer researchers Living people Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni People from Cupertino, California Stanford University alumni Date of birth missing (living people) 1994 births