Outreach
Stentor in Every School
In 2022, I co-founded Stentor in Every School (SiES), a science education organization dedicated to providing novel research opportunities to children in elementary schools. Given the natural creativity of youth, the SiES mission is to provide children with opportunities to produce new knowledge in addition to consuming it. As of 2026, SiES has worked with over 500 children, 50 volunteers, and 10 classrooms in San Francisco Unified School District.
Photo taken by SiES team.
Harmonies for the Elderly
In 2010, I founded Harmonies for the Elderly (HFTE), an organization dedicated to providing music enrichment services to people with Alzheimer’s disease. HFTE chapters have delivered hundreds of concerts at nursing homes in different parts of the country. Watch my TEDx talk about founding HFTE or visit here for updates about upcoming events.
Photo taken by HFTE team.
Exploratorium Pop-Up Museum Exhibits
In 2024, I worked with the Exploratorium, a prominent science museum in San Francisco, to create the “Music for Microbes” pop-up exhibit wherein I gave live violin performances to single cells, which contracted in response to the sound vibrations from my instrument. In 2025, I collaborated with my Stentor in Every School (see above) colleagues to create the “Mini Microbe Missions” pop-up exhibit for the Exploratorium Microscopy Festival: visitors could observe Stentor cells under microscopes and conduct experiments on them in real time using household chemicals.
I am playing the violin for the “Music for Microbes” pop-up exhibit at the Exploratorium. Video by Exploratorium team.
COVID Classes for Kids
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I created COVID Classes for Kid (CCFK) by mobilizing health professions graduate students across the country to teach free virtual classes about COVID-19 to children sheltering in place at home. Watch the video on the left to learn more about CCFK’s methods and impact.
The “Reach the World” organization interviews me to feature CCFK.