Darrion Nguyen

Darrion Nguyen (born October 20, 1994) is an Asian American science communicator, fashion designer, and digital creator. He is best known for portraying Dr. Ion on the Ryan's World YouTube channel and for his educational science content on social media.

Early life and education Darrion Nguyen was born on October 20, 1994, to Dung and Thi Nguyen and is of Vietnamese descent. Nguyen was raised in Houston, Texas. At age 11, his father was killed during a robbery at the family's convenience store. Following the incident, Nguyen fled to seek help and upon returning, found his father had died. Nguyen later graduated from Klein Forest High School before earning a Bachelor of Science and Arts in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre & Dance from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017.

Nguyen later returned to school to study fashion design, completing an Associate of Applied Science in Fashion Design. Nguyen was recently accepted into master's programs in fashion design at the University of the Arts London and Parsons Paris.

Science communication While working as a research technician in 2018, Nguyen began publishing educational science videos to Instagram and TikTok. His videos involve the use of popular audios to personify and dramatize specific biochemistry topics. His audience grew substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic when he focused on COVID-19 vaccine education and combating misinformation.

In 2021, Nguyen was an invited speaker at TEDxSalisbury, where he discussed the significance of educational yet relatable online content and how it can be leveraged to make science easily accessible.

In 2022, Nguyen partnered with Pfizer and Real Chemistry to produce a video series called I Heard it on The Internet aimed at debunking COVID-19 misinformation and rumors. The series has been named a finalist for the 2023 Shorty Award in the category of Best Video Series and Pharma & Healthcare.

In February 2023, Nguyen presented a second TEDx Talk at TEDxUTAustin titled “Reaching Objectives through Improv,” where he discussed the significance of integrating key principles of improvisational theatre into daily routines and interactions.

Nguyen portrays Dr. Ion on the Ryan's World YouTube channel.

Fashion career

In June 2025, Nguyen won first place in the Comic Couture Competition at Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas, for an original design inspired by Aang from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In September 2025, Nguyen won first place in the ACE NextGen x Macy's Sustainable Fashion Project for his sustainable garment, Forecast: Reuse.

Later that year, he competed in his fourth fashion design competition, the Pierre Cardin Young Designers Award (PCYDA), where he won the national Best Creativity Prize.

Television Nguyen has appeared as himself on the television programs Kal Penn Approves This Message (2020) and Space Greed (2021), which aired on Curiosity Stream.

In December 2024, he competed in the first season of the reality competition series Beast Games, created by MrBeast, as contestant 878. He advanced to the top 250 out of an initial field of 2,000 contestants.

Awards and nominations

Research

In 2024, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) found that Nguyen had engaged in research misconduct involving the falsification and fabrication of experimental data in federally funded research conducted in 2018. Nguyen publicly acknowledged the findings, and accepted full responsibility, stating that his actions stemmed from fear of his principal investigator, pressure to meet laboratory expectations, and personal struggles in the laboratory, while emphasizing that these circumstances did not excuse his conduct.