About

USABO Guide is a student-led project dedicated to promoting higher education in biology by providing free, high-quality learning resources. We pride ourselves in the quality of our expert-written handouts, which cover 21 separate topics ranging from cell biology to ecology. Our goal is to provide quality, free learning materials to aspiring students around the world interested in the Biology Olympiad, instilling interest in biology for a lifetime. 

Meet the Team

Zelmay Jan

Langley High School, VA '25

Zelmay is the head writer for USABO Guide. He is a two times USABO semifinalist, 1x Top 50, and USMDO gold medalist. He enjoys doing biology in science olympiad and science bowl, his favorite topic being anatomy and physiology.

Andrey Nikitin

University of Florida, USA '27

Andrey is the head editor for USABO Guide. He became "the bio guy" for his Science Bowl team (Top 8) and got T50 in USABO. He loves studying phylogeny (biosys) and his favorite organisms have double names, like the legendary "bio boops boops".

Alex Pan

Johns Hopkins University, USA '28

Alex is a USABO Top 50 and AIME qualifier. His favorite biology categories include ethology (nature documentaries!!) and stem cell biology, for which he is currently conducting research. Outside of biology, he enjoys fencing and eating noodles.

Laurie Wang

MIT, USA '28

Laurie is a 2x USABO semifinalist, a T125, and an AIME qual. She loves Science Olympiad (DD <3), is HOSA club president, and is a science team captain. She thinks biotech is the closest humans can get to magic and wonders if peashooters can be real.

Alexandra Duan

Columbia University, USA '28

Alexandra is a USABO semifinalist, AIME qualifier, and Science Olympiad national medalist. She is the captain of her school’s SciOly team, where she competes in Ecology. She likes neurobiology, loves genetics, and is a mediocre birdwatcher.

Vivian Ye

Cornell University, USA '28

Vivian is a USABO semifinalist, USMDO (medicine and disease) bronze medalist, and Science Olympiad National Tournament competitor. Her favorite topics within biology are neuroscience and immunology.

Brandon Kim

Stony Brook University, USA '28

Brandon achieved T125 in the USABO competition for two years in a row and loves biology. His favorite topics are cell and molecular biology and enjoys learning with his teammates in Science Olympiad. 

Arjun Krish

Saratoga High School, CA '26

Arjun qualified as a top 50 semifinalist for the USABO exam in '23 and partakes in research in neuroscience and ophthalmology at Stanford University. He enjoys pretty much anything to do with neuroscience and sensory systems.

Andrew Ung

Brown University, USA '29

Andrew is a USABO '23 Semifinalist. He founded his school's biology club and is currently interning with his town forestry department. He enjoys studying botany and cellular biology.

Rithik Sogal

Stony Brook University, USA '28

Rithik is a USABO Semifinalist and a National Science Bowl competitor. He does research in Bioinformatics and is interested in pharmacology and its relation to human physiology. He teaches young students Biology through LIYD, a local organization.  

Derek Minn

Johns Hopkins University, USA '27

Derek is studying biomedical engineering at JHU. He is a USABO Semifinalist in 2022, 6x Science Olympiad Cell Biology medalist, and also a National Science Bowl qualifier.

Andy Hou

Princeton University, USA '28

Andy was top 75 in USABO Semifinals and NACLO Invitationals and qualified for AIME and USNCO Nationals in 2023. They compete in and write for several biology competitions, co-founded Hawken's Science Olympiad team, and do biomedical research at CWRU.

Yida Pan

Great Neck South High School, NY '24

Yida qualified for the USESO national training camp '23 and attended the USAAAO Astronomy & Astrophysics introductory camp in 2022. He founded and directs USABO Guide along with the three other Olympiad Guides hoping to make Olympiads less scary to study.