High Point science program continues genetic work

SUSSEX BOROUGH — Over the summer, eight High Point High Regional High School students conducted their research for the Waksman Student Scholars program offered through the High Point Adult Education Program and Rutgers University.

The program is offered through the High Point Adult Education program and Rutgers University.

Beginning each summer with a three-week seminar and laboratory Institute held at the Waksman Institute located on the Busch Campus of Rutgers, the research continues back at each high school during the academic year and concludes the following spring with the Waksman Forum Poster Session.

High Point students — Gui Zhen Chen, Vincent DelleChiaie, Caroline Kuhnle, Laura Jacobs, Kyle O’Connell, Eliza Osborne, Jane Satter and Alicia Whitehead — each identified a gene found in the duckweed Landoltia punctata and submitted the sequence for publication in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database in order to study how the genes in the organism compare with those of other species.

But they didn’t stop there. Investigations into testing common foods lead their research on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). These student-scientists presented their research on Aug. 15.

“The work they did to publish their results is equivalent to 15 or more hours of lab work and bioinformatics processing per sequence,” science teacher Madelain Travaille said.

Having completed the summer program, the eight students have now received the opportunity to participate as Lead Student Scientists in the Science Research Club that meets biweekly at High Point Regional High School during the academic year, run by Travaille.

All eight students and a few others that did not participate in the summer program — Jessica Amick, Kyle Nolan, Dane Dvorak, Kelsey Westerkamp, Allison Stapel and Carly Faltraco — have had their research results published in the database for the discovery of at least one gene in the duckweed organism.

The list of gene sequence publications can be found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucest/?term=Travaille+and+Mead.