Teens of Bay Area

With steady hands and a sharp focus, Kevin Guo, a St. Ignatius College Preparatory School senior, carefully ejects a solution into a test tube.

Kevin was initially inspired by his dad, an orthopedic surgeon in China, who became an acupuncturist when he was unable to transfer his license from China to the US. In an attempt to bridge Eastern and Western medicine together, Kevin began cold emailing professors until he got his first research opportunity at a hematology lab. He’d spend three months there, primarily shadowing and assisting with tasks like maintaining isoflurane chambers to anesthetize mice and measure tumors.

Working on this, eventually led him to intern at UCSF’s Drug Research Unit, where he focused on malaria treatment for pregnant women in Uganda to measure the drug’s effectiveness over time. There, he contributed to two research papers: the first involved using advanced mass spectrometry to determine how much of a drug remained in the body after a month, and the second compared the efficacy of two malaria treatments, dihydroartemisinic-piperaquine (DP) and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP). 

However, he isn’t just a lab rat — he is also a Life Scout in Boys Scouts. He and his friends are currently working on an Eagle project, a project to demonstrate leadership and benefit the community. They hope to use their project to improve the neighborhood median by remodeling its landscape to enhance its quality of life. Boys Scouts has also opened up many opportunities. During a Boys Scouts Event, he was contacted by a job recruiter impressed with his speech on the podium, eventually securing him a job at an oral surgery clinic.

Working as an oral surgery assistant and office receptionist, Kevin said his role at the office, “has taught [him] the importance of communication and having everyone on the same page before making a big decision.”

Outside of internships, Boys Scouts and jobs, Kevin is a history geek. He enjoys spending his free time engaging in historical documentaries and researching about the Roman Empire. In fact, he even has a Roman Empire map on his wall and considers his life’s hashtag: #Roman Empire.

He’s also a musician, having played piano for over 15 years and now accompanies singers at Mass in his school’s ministry every week. 

“I enjoy playing the piano because it allows me to not only play and create songs, but express myself and my emotions more clearly,” Kevin said.

Focused on a future in orthopedics or public health after high school, he offers advice to incoming and current high school students:

“Don’t be afraid of rejection, make a difference and take advantage of the opportunities your school gives you because you will never know what opportunities they can bring”.  

Kevin Guo, 2025