College Prep Program

Grant

Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering (Minors in Global Health, Economics, and Public Policy)

Host Institution

Princeton University

Kenzo Miguel Pangan Tayko is a youth researcher, policy author, and public health advocate who grew up in a humble family of tailors in Tarlac. He graduated from Quezon City Science High School in 2026, where his academic formation was inseparable from his early encounters with the inequities that define life for many Filipinos at the margins. As Lead Researcher of PINTIG, he pioneered the Philippines' first AI-based diagnostic tool for early atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD)detection, recognized as one of the Top Biotechnology R&D studies among over 2,000 entries from around the world. He later secured a government grant to extend this work toward indigenous-focused health equity. In 2025, he completed a pre-collegiate fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Global Health, where he co-authored five healthcare equity policies advancing the democratization of healthcare services for marginalized populations across Asia and Africa.

In 2022, Kenzo founded two youth-led civic organizations, Kalinga and EmpowerEd PH, to confront the growing disparity in public health and education access among the most displaced and underserved communities in the Philippines. Together with fellow youth leaders, he mobilized partnership networks that connected indigenous Filipinos to basic healthcare services and delivered free, inclusive STEM and leadership education to nearly 200 out-of-school children across the outskirts of Manila.