Donald Phan

Trailhead70m

The banana 9.7 km

Independent researcher · Age 19

19, curious and hungry

The route · 9.7 km

  1. 01Proteins against microplastics450 m
  2. 02Enzymes against biofilm680 m
  3. 03Thirty frames920 m
  4. 04Coming soon1,240 m
  5. The banana About and contact1,710 m

Summit 01 of 04450m

The banana 7.2 km

Computational biology2026

Proteins against microplastics

A validated pipeline, fooled six times out of six.

Summit 02 of 04680m

The banana 5.2 km

Water technology2026

Enzymes against biofilm

Enzyme coatings that slow biofilm in desalination.

Summit 03 of 04920m

The banana 3.4 km

Photography2026

Thirty frames

Thirty iPhone photos, twenty awards, one Top 10.

Summit 04 of 041,240m

The banana 1.7 km

Locked

Coming soon

The fourth project is on its way.

The banana · the top1,710m

Trailhead 9.7 km

About

One of the biggest flaws in our world is that we often don’t take the liberty to find out what it offers. Go live.

Age
19
Affiliation
Independent
Focus
Synthetic Biology and Aqua Tech
Based in
Calgary/Toronto, Canada
Status
Looking for internships, research roles, and collaborations

Donald Phan lying in the glass corner of a rooftop observation deck, chin on clasped hands, grinning, with a city spread out far below.
The climber

The banana · the top1,710m

Sunrise 149.6M km

Have a hard question? Send it my way.

Independent researcher
Age 19

19, curious and hungry

Selected work

Projects
04
Years
2024–2026
Updated
Oct 2026
  1. 012026Proteins against microplasticsI validated a docking pipeline, then ran it against a protein whose experimental answer key already existed. It scored all six known non-binders as credible binders.Computational biology
  2. 022026Enzymes against biofilmWater scarcity becomes increasingly more pertinent, but biology can’t really desalinate seawater, so we can tackle the problem next to it. A survey and three models narrowed that problem to one object, a membrane spacer carrying an enzyme that stops bacteria coordinating.Water technology
  3. 032026Thirty framesStreet, travel and mountain photographs from 2025 and 2026, every one taken on an iPhone 16. On ViewBug they have earned twenty awards, and one made the Top 10 of the Image of the Month contest.Photography
  4. 04Coming soonThe fourth project is on its way.Locked

About

One of the biggest flaws in our world is that we often don’t take the liberty to find out what it offers. Go live.

Donald Phan lying in the glass corner of a rooftop observation deck, chin on clasped hands, grinning, with a city spread out far below.
The climber

“You cannot reach the banana if you do not have the courage to climb the tree.”

Motto
Age
19
Affiliation
Independent
Focus
Synthetic Biology and Aqua Tech
Based in
Calgary/Toronto, Canada
Status
Looking for internships, research roles, and collaborations

Contact

Have a hard question? Send it my way.