Self Introducation
Max Sun
Hello there. Welcome to my personal site. You probably already know my name: Zhixing (Max) Sun. And maybe you even know that I’m a 12th-grade student at Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School. But perhaps you didn’t know that my passion for agricultural and microbiological science is matched by my value for diligence and patience. They are the keys to my research, recognitions, and patches of food that grow in my garden.
No matter what life brings in the ebb and flow of time, diligence and patience have seen me through. I look forward to sharnig my values, and time, with you.
Phone
+86 13162112722
Max Sun
Max Sun
Max Sun
Max Sun
Max Sun
Max Sun
Max Sun
Max Sun
Awards
Awards & Recognition
British Biology Olympiad (BBO) Silver
March 26, 2024
BioOlympiad Initiative USA-China (USABO) Silver
March 26, 2024
Gold Medal (NNHS), IGEM Foundation;Best New Composite Part, High School, IGEM Foundation
November, 2025
Honor Praise (9th Grade Mathematics), Starriver Bilingual School
June, 2023
Honor Praise (9th Grade English), Starriver Bilingual School
June, 2023
Gold Award (Semi-Final Round) International Research Olympiad (20/3000)
March 26, 2024
Honor Roll (Academic Performance), Starriver Bilingual School
Jun. 2024 - Present
AP Scholar with Distinction Awarad
July, 2025
2nd Place, Team Darts (Starriver Dart Team Two Boys), Shanghai School Sports Federation Shanghai School Sports Federation Middle School Division
May, 2022
Young Scholar Academic (Yuanpei) Program: An Investigation of Antibiotics
Young Scholar Academic (Yuanpei) Program The project is about using NCBI data base to get the genmic data for discovering an innovative mechanism of vancomycin resistant Staphyococcus Aureus, mainly concentrating on its multiple copies of capsular encoding genes
Young Scholar Academic (Yuanpei) Program: An Investigation of Antibiotics
Young Scholar Academic (Yuanpei) Program The project is about using NCBI data base to get the genmic data for discovering an innovative mechanism of vancomycin resistant Staphyococcus Aureus, mainly concentrating on its multiple copies of capsular encoding genes
IGEM: Discovery of a "Black Box" System
As Team Leader for Human Practices and a Wet Lab Researcher, I collaborated with Columbia University’s Professor Wu and Professor Zhou (Luoyang Central Hospital) to explore innovative gene-editing strategies in E. coli. My work focused on: Extracting and identifying plasmids through centrifuge and lysis buffer systems. Designing a Controlled Random Mutagenesis system(also called a Black Box system) to both restrict mutations to specific regions and to randomly mutate genes of interest. Offered using Black Box system to mutate an efficient promotor for one other team called the HUBU-China. (Practical implementation) Using the system for implementation in bacterial energy pathways (NADPH), spermidine degradation, and nematode metabolism.
UChicago Summer School "Biotechnology in the 21 Century"
2025, July, the final presentation at Uchicago Summer school consist of an oral presentation and a pictorial demonstration of the work over the week. From this poster named “Micro killers that Learn”, my teammates and I created a broad explanation of how a kind of microbial Staphylococcus Aureus is able to evolve resistant to multiple antibiotics and battle the immune system, and proposes a new mechanism of How S.aureus is able to evolve an over expression of capsular genes to battle vancomycin.
Mentorship with Professor Wu: Raman spectrum and HPLC(High Pressure Liquid Chromatography))
From tenth grade to eleventh grade, I work under Dr.Wu as an intern in his lab. In the process, I am able to gain precious information in manipulating advance machinery like Raman Spectroscope and High pressure liquid chromatography machine. For the Raman machine, my mentor built it himself, and the HPLC machine is from AMP tech.
AI+Biology: Using AI to process Raman Data
Junior development: 2025, February, by using Raman spectroscopy data, I am able to blend the use of AI with analyzing the data created by monitoring cellular activity. Specifically, with the use of deep learning technology, the originally disordered and scattered data is able to to analyzed by an amateur. This new technology could not only aim to solve pressing problem about the educational cost of doing an experiment, but also enhances working efficiency inside the lab.
Darts Team Captain: A Road to Freedom and Passion
From fifth grade to the current twelve grade, darts is the main sport that persists through my time in school. I viewed darts as a chance to free myself from the shackles of pressure and continued to play not because of stress but because of passion. During the time of playing darts, I am able to focus on darts and solely darts, so the whole process could enliven myself and continue to enlighten my mind to today.
Shanghai Agriculture and Science Center: Agrobacterium and callus tissue
I worked as a Student Researcher in Biology under the guidance of Professor Han at the Shanghai Agriculture and Science Center and Shanghai Ocean University. My research focused on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (AMT) of rice, where I introduced Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA into callus tissue derived from rice embryos. Collaborating with a team of nine student researchers, I explored genetic alteration and mutagenesis in rice, contributing to experiments in callus induction and transformation. I also delivered a presentation on our findings and was recognized with the Excellent Member Award (3 out of 20+ students) for my research performance and presentation.