Yifan Li
Maryland
Yifan Li, 18, from Rockville, entered the Intel Science Talent Search with a
medicine & health project on the development of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)
cells from mouse embryonic stem cells. RPE cells are important for visual
function and there is currently a lack of RPE cell supply for transplantation - a
shortage that stem cells may be able to fill. Working with cells that had
differentiated from mouse stem cells, Yifan identified colonies that resembled
RPE cells in shape and genetic expression. He hopes his work might someday allow
scientists to grow retinal cells to treat diseases that cause blindness, such as
age-related macular degeneration. Yifan's success has drawn the attention of
several researchers at the National Eye Institute, who are interested in
continuing this work. Yifan, the son of Zhuqing Li and Yun Zhou, has played the
piano since he was three, and has performed at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln
Center. Yifan enjoys fencing, is a four-year member of the math league team, and
captains the debate team at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring. A
native of China, he hopes to attend Stanford or Princeton and study biology or
economics.
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