Each year, Keck School of Medicine holds a research video challenge that is open to Keck School of Medicine Master’s and Doctoral students in Health and Biomedical Science programs. With this challenge, students need to create a three-minute video describing their lab, research project, or trajectory at USC.
Zipeng Zeng, a fifth year Development, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine PhD candidate from Hengyang, Hunan, China, noticed that many past submissions were done in a similar format. Videos were created focusing on an audience with a scientific background. Wanting to do something different and out of the box, he merged two of his passions together – biology and Hip Hop music. With a clear vision in mind, he teamed up with classmates Daniel Fernandez and Duc Nguyen to write, shoot, direct, produce and edit a rap style video that describes his lab work in a catchy and fun way.
And it paid off. The video won first place, and the $1,000 prize! You can check out the winning video on YouTube and below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_P3SSRq3d8
Zipeng moved to the U.S. to pursue Bachelor of Science degrees in biology and business management at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Seeing that he was doing so well, a professor nominated him for the scholars program (similar to a progressive degree program), which allowed him to continue to earn a Master of Science degree in biology.
After receiving his three degrees in Alabama, he wanted the next step in his academic journey to be in a more diverse, opportunity-filled city. USC and Los Angeles were the perfect place for that.
When reflecting on his time at USC, Zipeng’s greatest achievement so far in his studies has been publishing “Generation of patterned kidney organoids that recapitulate the adult kidney collecting duct system from expandable ureteric bud progenitors,” an academic paper while in his third year of the PhD program. He was also the president of the School of Medicine Graduate Student Association from 2019 – 2020, the director of finance -education and access with the Graduate Student Government, and most recently the founding member and director of sponsorship & finance in the student-run bioentrepreneurship organization Nucleate Los Angeles chapter.
Something that Zipeng emphasizes is the importance of balancing your school work and hobbies. Although he finds himself very busy, working in the lab every day, he makes time each week to play basketball with his colleagues. Every Friday, Zipeng, along with a group of students and scholars at the Health Sciences Campus head over to a local park to play basketball. Through this, he has met new friends, and even got connected with his mentor, professor Zhongwei Li.
After graduating at the end of this year, Zipeng hopes to pursue a career as an entrepreneur. Using his impressive degrees and experience, he hopes to start his own biotech company, with the goal of becoming a legend of the biotech industry.
Written by: Melissa Mancini, OIS Communications Editor, M.A. Candidate in Public Relations and Advertising, USC Annenberg 2022