Vivek Malik '25

I have always been interested in how we can leverage our own immune system to fight cancer. Blood cancers are particularly interesting to me because they do not necessarily present themselves in one localized region of the body, like a solid tumor would. After learning about antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), a new immunotherapy that can seek out and kill cells that express specific proteins, I became quite interested in seeing if ADCs could be successful at targeting proteins preferentially expressed on blood cancer (lymphoma) cells. I found that a cell-surface receptor that is expressed on lymphoma cells plays a crucial role in regulating the mechanisms of the cancer, and an ADC targeting that receptor could be effective at killing malignant cells.

Outside of IRP, I am an avid debater, pianist, and swimmer. I follow the news religiously, and am a follower of all domestic politics-related stories. In my free time I enjoy learning linguistics and new languages, playing ping pong, and losing all my (fake) money in online Monopoly.

1st Place + Grand Award Winner at WESEF 2024
1st Place Grand Award Winner at NYSSEF 2024
ISEF 2024 Finalist
International Genius Olympiad 2024 Finalist