Hard Work Pays Off for Science Whiz

Kevin Wu’s father could bestow on his son love and guidance, even Confucian wisdom, but he could not help him with his science project.

Not unless he understood how so-called Hu proteins bind to ribonucleic acid in cancerous lung cells.

Wu is one of those stellar teenagers who found himself far beyond his parents’ help, blazing his own academic trail instead of soaking up the distilled paragraphs of some bland, outdated textbook like the rest of us.

In the words of classmate Sindy Wong: “Kevin is like . . . beyond.”

On Friday the governor’s wife, Sharon Davis, presented Wu with the Outstanding Young Scientist Award at Alhambra High School after he beat more than 4,500 students statewide.

The 17-year-old senior, who has been conducting his research for more than two years under a USC professor, will receive a $1,000 savings bond and a college letter of recommendation. He is the second consecutive student from the renowned science department of Alhambra High to take the honor and is deciding whether to attend Harvard, Northwestern or USC.

Wu never thought the late nights researching such an esoteric topic would land him in front of a crew of cameras and the governor’s wife. His classmates giggled and his father smiled ear to ear as the gangly and wry student was commended for his work.

“I’m just ecstatic,” Wu said. “I’m not used to the spotlight. But what I’ve done really was a community effort of school, teachers and friends.”

At school, he is known for being witty, talkative and honest. He plays varsity tennis and works in service clubs, and his classmates say they monitor his academic achievements with pride. Rumors ripple through campus about his near-perfect SAT scores and whether or not he got into Harvard.

“Our school has this reputation for intelligence, and he’s like the top,” said Cindy Lo, 17.

Wu came to California from Shanghai at the age of 6, speaking only Mandarin. His father, Jiaxun, recalled his boy clutching his hand on the way to school, terrified that he knew no English.

But the young Wu grasped the language quickly and rose within several years to the top of his classes, even in English. Jiaxun Wu, who has taught his son Confucian principles, said he is deeply proud of Kevin.

“I was so excited when I heard about the award,” he said. “But I always thought participation is more important than being honored.”

When Wu was still a shy 15-year-old, he went to USC at the behest of his teacher and convinced Ite Laird-Offringa, a professor of surgery, biochemistry and molecular biology, to let him work in her lab.

She was wary about a high school student doing the work usually reserved for college and graduate students, but she set up an experiment he could fit into his tight schedule.

Laird-Offringa was interested in Hu proteins, which were generally seen in the nervous system but were also showing up in certain cancerous lung cells.

She wanted to study how these proteins might affect the uncontrolled growth in cancer cells and thought perhaps they were somehow tweaking a genetic material called ribonucleic acid, or RNA, which is a precursor to protein and cell growth. Essentially, she surmised that they were keeping the RNA from being switched off at the normal time, thus causing a prolonged growth spurt.

She gave Wu the task of setting up a system that replicated what is seen in the body, so that researchers could study it in the laboratory. He worked up to 65 hours a week in the summer, and persevered after numerous failures, spending weeks going down wrong paths.

“It was so hard, because you’re doing stuff that no one has ever done before,” Wu said. “You never know what you’re going to get.”

Now, after once contemplating giving up, he still has to tie up some loose ends on his research, but he won Friday’s award, given by the California Assn. of Professional Scientists.

Laird-Offringa said she was amazed that a high school student, working only part time, could achieve what Wu has. She said he was initially uncomfortable in the lab, especially while making presentations to older scientists, but rose to the occasion.

“It’s been a real pleasure to see someone bloom,” she said.