About
The Baology Prep Course is designed to be the Biology Olympiad course that our instructors wished they had access to when they were students. All of our instructors are not only alumni of the Biology Olympiad programs, but also competed at the top levels in them. While this course is designed for students of all levels including beginners, many find the content most easily absorbed if they do the assigned readings for each class prior the lecture. Our goal is to take the official textbook of USABO, Campbell Biology, and use it as a framework to build more advanced topics. As such our class will benefit students both introductory and advanced. We pride ourselves on three principles when teaching our course:
Whenever possible we strive to cover more and not less material. We will often hold additional sessions, review classes, and even community activities for students of the course
We think that with any competition as intensive and involved as USABO, half the battle is finding the motivation to study. By fostering a community of fellow biology enthusiasts we find that students find studying no longer a chore but a fun challenge to undertake
Study smarter not harder is a common adage, and we strive to bring the “smart” to the table. As former high-performers ourselves, we know the stress of dealing with other extracurriculars, challenging classes, and a social life, so we try to focus a big part of the class on strategy and skills so even if you don’t have time to master all the content you can see improvements to your performance.
Kevin is a current PhD Student in the prestigious UW Madison Genetics Training Program. He got his Bachelor of the Arts in Integrative Biology from Harvard University in 2019. During high school, he was a three time USABO National Finalist, earning bronze and silver medals during his career. He was also Captain of Troy High School’s Science Olympiad Team, winning numerous personal awards in events like Cell Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, and Designer Genes. During his tenure, he led the team to two National Titles. He later also founded the Harvard Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament. Kevin has had extensive experience teaching USABO. All of his former students have qualified for semifinals and Kevin has had seven students qualify for National Finals and four make IBO.
Joseph is a third-year Vagelos Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time in high school, Joseph qualified as a top 20 finalist of the USA Biology Olympiad competition and earned a silver medal (national Top 8). As a leading member of the Troy Science Olympiad team, he helped lead the team to become national champions twice. He has also won numerous individual national medals such as 1st place in Disease Detectives, 2nd place in Anatomy & Physiology, and 3rd place in Designer Genes. He plans to use his +6 years of teaching experience to make this course enjoyable and enriching.
Lawrence is a freshman at MIT and planning to major in bioengineering. He is thoroughly experienced in the USA Biolympiad, having qualified as a USABO Top 50 Semifinalist in 2020, a USABO Top 20 National Finalist in 2021, and a USABO Top 4 Team member in 2022. During his time as a high schooler at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley (BISV), he was a core member and contributor of the BISV Science Bowl team, leading the team to top four in one of the most competitive National Science Bowl regions. He is excited to share his years of testing experience with students and help them succeed in USABO.
Jasper is a current PhD student in Immunology at Harvard Medical School. He graduated from Princeton University in 2021 with a degree in Molecular Biology. In high school, he brought USABO to his school and qualified as a National Finalist in 2016. In 2022, he served as a Teaching Assistant at USABO National Finals. He also co-led his school's Science Olympiad and Science Bowl teams, winning several invitational and state-level Science Olympiad across events including Anatomy & Physiology, Cell Biology, Disease Detectives, and Protein Modeling, and coached a middle school Science Bowl team to nationals. He is excited to utilize his experience in teaching, coaching, and mentorship to ensure that biological concepts are communicated as clearly as possible.
Greycen is a sophomore at MIT studying biology. He has competed in USABO in all four years of high school, while qualifying as a Finalist in 2021 and 2022. He served as a teaching assistant at the 2023 USABO National Finals. Greycen has also been heavily involved in Science Olympiad, both as a competitor for his high school and as a test writer. He is very excited to share his love of frogs and biology to many new students.
Ian is a freshman at Carleton College, where he plans to pursue dual majors in Biology and Statistics. With a deep-rooted passion for biological sciences, Ian qualified as a USABO finalist in 2023. As an alumnus of Baology, he is excited to contribute to the community that played a pivotal role in his academic development, bringing his unique insights and experiences to the prep course.
Kaiden Wu is a first year student at the University of Chicago studying biology. A graduate
of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, he was also a 2023 USABO
finalist and gold medalist one of only two US gold medalists at the 2023 IBO competition.
Kaiden has had a long history of mentorship both as a member of the Baology community and in
his own. He is a founding member of the American Regional Biology Competition and volunteers
as a Science Explainer at the National Air and Space museum. In his free time, Kaiden has
been a member of the TJ crew team for the past 3 years and is father to a baobab tree which
is growing big and healthy.
Caleb Zhao is a freshman at MIT planning on studying biochemistry. He is a 2021 USABO
Finalist and Bronze medalist. He also competed in the US National Chemistry Olympiad and was
selected as a Finalist in 2022.
During his time at Montgomery Blair High School, he was a key member of the Science Olympiad
team, winning the Cell Biology and Chemistry Lab events at the State level. As a Blair
Science Bowl captain, he led his team to the top 4 at the 2022 Nationals, while also
coaching his middle school Science Bowl team following the departure of the former coach. He
is excited to share his knowledge and experience in navigating the world of USABO.
Albert is a freshman at MIT planning to major in computer science and molecular biology. He was a top 20 National Finalist for USABO and earned a bronze medal as a top 12 contestant at Finals. In his previous year, he qualified as a Top 50 semifinalist. He has also earned Top 5 medals at leading Science Olympiad invitationals in events such as Cell Biology and Chemistry Lab. Albert is excited to use his years of teaching and tutoring experience to present biology in a clear, engaging, and efficient manner.
Roy is a current sophomore at Harvard College for the coming year. He received a merit award at the IBO 2019 and qualified for the USABO Semifinals twice. He also co-founded the Biology Olympiad Club at his high school. Roy has teaching experience in various subject areas and is excited to help build the confidence and knowledge of students who are dedicated to learning more about biology.