LONG-NA ADA VASSILAKIS

High School Senior | Fall 2027 College Applicant

I am a high school senior attending iSchool in Hainan, China, with a deep interest in fundamental academic drug discovery, especially small-molecule therapeutics for brain tumors. I am actively applying to undergraduate programs this admissions cycle, seeking opportunities to join hands-on bench research, build cross-disciplinary skills in medicinal chemistry, cancer metabolism, and medical imaging, and collaborate with peers on scientific problems.

Research Projects

Arsenic-in-Rice Research Project (High School Team Project 2024-2026)

My first independent scientific initiative funded by my high school. I recruited classmates to form a research team to investigate to what degree Bradyrhizobium bacteria could mitigate arsenic absorption by rice plants. This project taught me how to lead collaborative work, navigate team friction, adjust decisions collectively, and recover when team members leave the project. My team grew more than 800 experimental hydroponic rice plants over two years in our school lab to validate our hypothesis.

Natural Products Lab Research, Occidental College (Summer 2026)

First High school Volunteer lab assistant in Prof. V. Shende’s Norris Hall natural products lab. Over five weeks, I assisted in DNA isolation from marine fungus Aspergillus that produces the compounds Aspergillamides A and B with potential anti-cancer activity. I learned core wet-lab techniques, worked alongside undergrad researchers, and witnessed the all-undergrad research culture that enables students to contribute to published research.

[Poster: Marine Fungi Natural Products Anti-Cancer Study (PDF)]

Computational Biology Internship, Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan) University (Summer 2025)

First High school summer intern in Prof. Yongsen Ruan's computational biology lab working on HIV evolution. Used sequence analysis and phylogenetic modeling to examine viral mutation patterns, evolutionary selection pressures, and sequence diversity. This work built my computational and scripting toolkit for modeling biological systems, skills I carry forward for quantitative drug discovery and imaging analysis.

Research Interests

My long-term goal is to pursue academic drug discovery and eventually a PhD, focusing on brain tumor therapeutics, inspired by the success of vorasidenib (INDIGO clinical trial) based on decades of IDH1 research.

Approach to Research

I am a self-paced, self-directed learner who values building strong scientific fundamentals while leaving room for unexpected side discoveries. I believe scientific progress comes from "committed crews": small groups of peers with shared curiosity, engaging in productive friction to raise each other’s standards and move research forward.