Would you like to join our club?
2021-2022 Spring Kick-Off Virtual Meeting
When? Friday, 6/4 @ 3PM
How? This is a virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams.
Information, including a video of the meeting, is available at:
KICK-OFF MEETING INFORMATION
Matthew Timofeev
Effects of Climate Change on Diurnal Precipitation
- 1st Place, DVSF
Best Environmental Science project for any senior in tri-state region! - American Meteorological Society Commended Project
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Scholarship ($15,000)
- 1st Award, PJAS Regionals
- 1st Place, BCSRC
- 1st Place, PJAS State Meeting
Climate change is infamously changing rainfall patterns around the world, and local daily rainfall patterns are no exception. To design more resilient infrastructure to cope for sudden rain, to adapt agricultural practices to limit runoff into ecosystems, the changes to our daily rainfall must be analyzed. I analyzed online data from NOAA, focusing on variability in rainfall using linear algebra and statistics, and I found that our rainfall is getting more erratic throughout the day in all seasons. Hourly average rainfall curves are showing new peaks and valleys in modern times, signifying that we may have to adapt our drainage and agriculture for quicker bursts of rain rather than steady drizzles.
Matthew, a STEM Leadership Council Member, will study physics and sustainability at Dartmouth College in the hopes of working in the clean energy sector.
Glenda Armas
The Role of Aluminum Resistance Genes against Pisum Sativum Phytotoxicity
- 1st Place, DVSF
Best Botany project for any senior in tri-state region! - Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Scholarship ($15,000)
- 1st Award, PJAS Regionals
- 1st Place, BCSRC
- 1st Place, PJAS State Meeting
Phytotoxicity is generalized as a toxic effect by a compound on plant growth. These compounds cause major agricultural losses and can even be human carcinogens according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pectin Methylesterases (PME), Calmodulin (CAM), and Glytanyl Cysteine Synthase (GGCS), and glutathione reductase (GRED) are genes that could increase the aluminum resistance and stop the effects of aluminum phytotoxicity. The goal of my project was to investigate the gene expressions of the four genes on eight different aluminum exposed Pisum Sativum (Pea) cultivars and stop the delay in plant maturation.
Glenda, a STEM Leadership Council Member, will attend Temple University where she will major in Biology. Glenda has been accepted into the Honors Program and is a Dean's Scholarship recipient.
Krishnakanth Katakota
Evaluating Existing Protease Inhibitors’ Efficacy Against the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus
- 1st Place, DVSF
Best Chemistry project for any junior in tri-state region! - Yale Science and Engineering Association
- University of the Sciences Scholarship ($37,000; $9,250/year)
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Scholarship ($15,000)
- 1st Award, PJAS Regionals
- 1st Place, BCSRC
- 1st Place, PJAS State Meeting
As we all know, COVID-19 has been very deadly. In just over a year, it has killed 3.5 million people globally, and almost 600,000 people in America alone, and the issue is that we currently don't have effective treatments to combat the virus. My project aims to target COVID-19 by inhibiting their protease enzymes using currently existing protease inhibitor drugs for diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C. Proteases are enzymes that break larger proteins into smaller parts, and this is important for SARS-CoV-2, because it relies on protease enzymes to break one large protein into smaller proteins called NSPs. These NSPs then work together to take over cells, use them for viral replication, and destroy traces of infection so the body can't create defenses against it, meaning it's very hard to combat SARS-CoV-2. If a protease inhibitor can stop the protease enzymes from creating the NSPs, they could effectively kill the infection at its roots.
Krishnakanth is a CB South junior who participated in the PA Biotechnology Center Partnership Program. More information about that program is available here.
Elizabeth Zuerblis
The Pharmacologic Induction of cGAS and STING in Epigenetically Silenced Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- 2nd Place, DVSF
Second best Medicine and Health project for any senior in tri-state region! - Chromatography Forum of Delaware Valley HS Second Place ($75)
- PA Society for Biomedical Research Award ($250)
- Ronald C. Lorenzon Memorial Award ($100)
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Scholarship ($15,000)
- 1st Award, PJAS Regionals
- 2nd Place, BCSRC
- 1st Place, PJAS State Meeting
My research focuses on two proteins in the immune system- STING and cGAS- that are heavily involved in innate immunity and the cancer progression progress but are commonly silenced in many cancers. I am working to reactivate the protein expression in hopes of initiating an immune system response and making cancerous cells more susceptible to treatment and cell death in general. I am specifically investigating the reactivation of these proteins in HCC which is a very prevalent type of liver cancer with few treatment options. The reactivation of the silenced proteins may prove to be useful as an immunotherapy for HCC and other cancers where cGAS and STING are also silenced.
Elizabeth, a STEM Leadership Council Member, will be studying biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Partha Panicker
A Weakness in the "Invulnerable" Superbugs, Mur Proteins and Molecule Testing to Disable Them
Mentor: Dr. John Kulp
- 3rd Place, DVSF
Third best Chemistry project for any senior in tri-state region! - US Department of Agriculture Eastern Regional Research Center Future Scientist Award
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Scholarship ($15,000)
- 1st Award PJAS Regionals
- 3rd Place, BCSRC
- 1st Place, PJAS State Meeting
My project was geared toward finding a cure for the currently incurable antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA. As time passes, the chance of a large scale bacterial pandemic gets higher and higher, and as such, it is critical that we have a defense. Within the bacteria MRSA, there exist 7 proteins, labelled Mur proteins, that all work together to build the cell wall. The cell wall is what protects the bacteria, meaning that if a drug were to be found to affect these proteins, the cell wall would collapse and the bacteria would die.
Partha, a CB South senior and STEM Leadership Club Council Member, will attend Cornell University and with study biomechanical engineering.
Veronica Swartz
The Effect of Aluminum Toxicity on Pea Root Cap Cells
Mentor: Dr. Darl Swartz
- 3rd Place, DVSF
Third best Botany project for any junior in tri-state region! - $8,000 ($2,000/year) Scholarship PSU- Eberly College of Science
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Scholarship ($15,000)
- 1st Award, PJAS Regionals
- 2nd Place, BCSRC
- 1st Award, PJAS State Meeting
I tested the impact that two different heavy metals, copper sulfate and cobalt chloride, on root cap cells of pea plants. Both heavy metals were introduced to pea root tips at molarities ranging from 0.1-0.0001. The amount of sloughing, or shedding that occurred over 20 minutes was recorded and analyzed via the image analysis software FIJI. It was shown that the copper sulfate resulted in the largest sloughing at 0.001 molar. Root cap cells are vital to plant health overall, and any damage caused to the cells can be detrimental. Heavy metals like the two I tested can be found within the soil naturally, or artificially through pesticides. If the impact of these metals can be quantified, then potential soil viability could be determined based on metals present within the soil.
Veronica is a CB South junior and STEM Leadership Council Member.
Would you like to join our leadership team?
Rising juniors and seniors must apply by Tuesday, June 15.
Rising sophomores will have the opportunity to apply in the fall.
https://bit.ly/STEMLeadershipResponsibilities