Successful hosted Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt's Talk with High School Students and Tour of Dr. Lu's Lab at Stanford

On August 21, 2025, we hosted an extraordinary event at Stanford University that brought science to life for high school students across the Bay Area. A large group of students gathered to hear Nobel Prize-winning scientist Dr. Michael Levitt share his personal journey in a talk titled “A Wonderful Life in Science.”

You can view the entire talk by Dr. Levitt on YouTube at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPCDXQ9Dv5o

Click on the above picture to access the YouTube video of Dr. Levitt's talk

Information on Laureate Michael Levitt and his research:

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2013/levitt/facts/

https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Michael_Levitt

Hosts: Lucas Yeung (Burlingame High School) and Benjamin Lu (Henry M. Gunn High School)

Host organization: IRIS (Internships and Research for Inquisitive Students); https://www.irisresearchlab.com/

After Dr. Levitt’s talk, we toured Dr. Lu’s lab, where we were introduced to cutting-edge neuroscience research. The lab had set up multiple experiment and instrumentation stations, giving students the chance to gain hands-on experience.

Information on Dr. Lu and his research: https://med.stanford.edu/lulab.html

The lab tour offered a hands-on experience that brought Dr. Levitt’s inspiring words to life, showing students the possibilities that lie ahead in their own scientific journeys.

We are deeply grateful to Dr. Levitt and Dr. Lu for generously sharing their time, wisdom, and research insights.

Major event: Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt giving an inspirational talk to IRIS members and high school students at Stanford University on August 21, 2025, at 5 PM (ideally, arrive 10 mins earlier)

We have the greatest honor to host Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Michael Levitt at Stanford University on August 21, 2025, at 5:00 PM-5:30 PM. Laureate will provide an inspirational talk and Q&As to our members and high school students. Parents and siblings can stroll around the beautiful Stanford during that time. After the talk, we will host a lab tour of Dr. Bingwei Lu's Lab at Stanford to learn essential neuroscience research techniques and interact with brilliant researchers. If you're interested in attending this once-in-a-lifetime event, please use this sign up form: IRIS event sign-up form or email us at irisresearch.outreach@gmail.com

Space is limited so sign up ASAP and definitely by August 14.

Nobel Laureate Levitt talk location (5:00 PM - 5:30 PM): Room M106, Alway Building, 300 Pasteur Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 (Stanford University)

Parking: Pasteur Visitor Garage, 200 Pasteur Dr, Palo Alto, CA 94304

Lab tour location (5:45 PM - 6:30 PM): Dr. Bingwei Lu Lab, Edwards Building, Room R270

June 13th, 2025 @UCSF Mission Bay Campus

On June 14th, the leadership team and students from across many high schools had the honor and opportunity to visit the UCSF Mission Bay Campus and meet Dr. Su Guo. Dr. Guo is a Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.

During the visit, students toured Dr. Guo's lab, where they were introduced to breakthrough research initiatives (neural stem cell division and neural circuitry of stress) and the novel methods (zebrafish screening, two-photon microscopes, computational neural networks) used by her team. Dr. Guo's lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system development and function. Students had the privilege to see how Dr. Guo’s research can be translated into new medicines for neurodegenerative diseases and anxiety medications.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Guo and UCSF for hosting us. The students gained valuable insights, and we eagerly anticipate our next visit!