Yakov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and immigrated to New York City at age 7. He has been fascinated by languages, music, and science his entire life. Yakov is passionate about his heritage and the Russian, Hebrew, and Yiddish languages. He is president of Stuyvesant High School's Jewish Student Union, Hebrew Honor Society, and Diversity Week. Yakov studies Jewish music and folklore at programs such as KlezKamp and KlezKanada. His other connection to the global community is his molecular biology research, for which he received an award from an international society. He is the first author of a paper on ways to model inflammation in the Journal of Critical Care. Currently, Yakov is investigating mutation-regulating genes at New York University. His present projects include translating an ethnosociology book from Russian, and furthering his Klezmer technique and style. Yakov is eternally grateful to his mentors, teachers, and family for staying with him throughout hardships and for giving him the drive to excel. He is thrilled to study biophysics at Princeton University with QuestBridge's help.