This award recognizes a Biology major who has excelled in research during their Emory career. This year’s award went to Kihoon (Alan) Kang. Alan Kang is an exceptionally skilled researcher, excelling in both laboratory techniques and computational analyses. He has been a driving force on multiple projects in Dr. David Gorkin’s lab. His most recent work focused on how a key protein complex, BAF, controls gene expression. He applied machine learning to predict which areas of the genome are impacted by BAF. By processing hundreds of genomic datasets and testing multiple predictive models, he discovered that specific patterns of histone modifications and transcription factor binding could accurately determine which regions of genome were rendered inaccessible by the loss of BAF. His technical expertise, innovative problem-solving, and ability to bridge experimental and computational biology have earned him recognition at conferences, coauthorship on several upcoming publications, and acceptances to several top genomics PhD programs. Alan’s ingenuity, dedication, and curiosity truly embody the spirit of the Marsteller Award.
This past summer, Alan spent time in Dr. Gorkin’s Lab wrapping up his undergraduate research experience. After the summer, he returned to South Korea to join the Korean Army for two years as a soldier. Following his time of service, he will begin his Ph.D. program in Genetics at Stanford University.