Jin Pan
California
Henry M. Gunn High School
Jin Pan, 17, of Palo Alto, submitted to the Intel Science Talent Search a bioinformatics and genomics project offering new glimpses
into the role of pauses that take place when proteins fold. Proteins are known to fold into very particular shapes but it is still unclear
how they manage to do this successfully and efficiently. One theory suggests that this is facilitated by slowing translation. To study this,
Jin developed a novel computer model that he believes shows that the pauses in protein formation exist to aid folding. This knowledge may
help researchers design superior vaccines, express certain proteins at higher rates to produce new pharmaceuticals, and improve the
computational models used to study protein structures. Jin is a varsity sprinter at Henry M. Gunn High School and is active in Math
Circles, Science Olympiad and the Ultimate Frisbee team. He is a former Northern California Chess Champion and a long time member of the
school chess club where he remained undefeated throughout his junior year. Fluent in Mandarin, Jin is the son of Chiling Pan and Runhuai Yang.
He developed and teaches his own math course at Egan Junior High School and aims to complete a double major in theoretical math and computer science.
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