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SLU ASBMB Hosts High School Research Symposium

04/10/2024

The SLU American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Chapter organized its second High School Research Symposium Outreach Event on Saturday, April 6. This event attempts to merge research and presentation experience to help provide high school students in the St. Louis area with exposure to the scientific experimentation process.

Fifteen students from four different high schools in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area were selected and constructed either a literature review or a compilation of lab work with which they are currently involved. At the conclusion of their project, each student created an abstract, a scientific poster, and a slide presentation. 

From left are Layton Pfeuffer (Saint Louis University High School), Sophie Burgoon (Visitation Academy), Lauren Cleary (Visitation Academy), Mary Stein (Visitation Academy), Allison Kowalczyk (Visitation Academy), Hannah Houseworth (Visitation Academy), Josephine Janisch (Visitation Academy), Lillian Carlin (Visitation Academy), Amisha Poojari (MICDS), Abhinav Katyal (MICDS), Arjun Puri (MICDS), Sanjana Gandhi (MICDS), Emma Carcamo (Marquette High School), Charlie Dougherty (Saint Louis University High School), and Vincent Ly (Saint Louis University High School).

From left are Layton Pfeuffer (Saint Louis University High School), Sophie Burgoon (Visitation Academy), Lauren Cleary (Visitation Academy), Mary Stein (Visitation Academy), Allison Kowalczyk (Visitation Academy), Hannah Houseworth (Visitation Academy), Josephine Janisch (Visitation Academy), Lillian Carlin (Visitation Academy), Amisha Poojari (MICDS), Abhinav Katyal (MICDS), Arjun Puri (MICDS), Sanjana Gandhi (MICDS), Emma Carcamo (Marquette High School), Charlie Dougherty (Saint Louis University High School), and Vincent Ly (Saint Louis University High School). Submitted photo. 

On the day of the symposium, each student presented their scientific research for seven to eight minutes, followed by a question session by SLU faculty, other students, and high school faculty members.

There was a panel of judges evaluating the presentations on scientific content and data analysis, similar to a collegiate-level presentation. The faculty judges consisted of SLU Medical Sciences professors Uthayashanker Ezekiel, Ph.D., and Rita Heuertz, Ph.D., and student judges were ASBMB E-board members Vaishnavi Srirama, Ether Dharmesh, Jessica Michael, Ashwin Pillai, Angela Lee, and Leah Keswani.

Cash prizes and SLU merchandise were given to the top three presenters and honorary mention students.

The following students received awards:

The presentation session was followed by a tour of south campus, including the Doisy Research Center, Allied Health Building laboratory spaces, and cancer research and microbiology labs of Ezekiel and Heuertz.

The SLU ASBMB High School Research Symposium was first started in the spring of 2023 by the current chapter president, Vaishnavi Srirama. As a high school student, Srirama completed a similar program, which she attributes as life-changing to her interests and career goal as a physician-scientist. She wanted to start a similar event through ASBMB to impact the science community and provide mentorship to students through the lens of scientific outreach.

Since the first symposium in 2023, Srirama, Jessica Michael, and Ashwin Pillai have written and received an outreach grant of $500 from ASBMB in support of the event. At the recent 2024 Discover BMB national conference, the SLU Chapter of ASBMB was awarded an Honorary Mention for being the best ASBMB chapter in the country, and Srirama presented a poster about the 2023 outreach event outcomes and impact.

Furthermore, the ASBMB High School Research Symposium has created a large local impact as well. One of the faculty members at Visitation Academy, Laurie Blanner, started a new research course and pathway in her school’s curriculum. She also networked with another faculty from Saint Louis University High School, Tim O’Keefe, whom she met at the 2023 SLU ASBMB Research Symposium, to create a Neuroscience competition between their two high schools. 

Organizers for the event were: