UT Scientists, Mathematicians and High Schoolers Partner for Success

December 21, 2018 • by Steven E. Franklin

Gold medalists in an astrophysics Olympic-style event, award-winners at a statewide science fair and budding genetic engineers who shared their research 2,000 miles away are among the high schoolers who found success after working closely with members of the Texas Science community in 2018.

The USA Team in Beijing. From left to right: Ioana Zelko (Team Leader), Sahil Pontula, Vincent Brian, David Yue (also a Texan), Andy Zhu, Texan and gold medalist Joseph McCarty, April Cheng and UT Austin graduate student Nastasa Dragovic (Team Leader). Photo from the USAAAO.

The USA Team in Beijing. From left to right: Ioana Zelko (Team Leader), Sahil Pontula, Vincent Brian, David Yue (also a Texan), Andy Zhu, Texan and gold medalist Joseph McCarty, April Cheng and UT Austin graduate student Nastasa Dragovic (Team Leader). Photo from the USAAAO.


The LASA iGEM team worked on a project to detect HIV in infants. Image courtesy: LASA iGEM.

The LASA iGEM team worked on a project to detect HIV in infants. Image courtesy: LASA iGEM.

In October, a group of high school students from the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin brought home a bronze medal from the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in Boston, which involves creatively applying synthetic biology to real-world issues. The LASA iGEM team worked with Andrew Ellington, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at UT Austin. Ellington served as their primary investigator, offered them space in his laboratory and provided guidance on the project. The team also received assistance with lab protocols and assays from graduate students and staff at UT Austin, including Sanchita Bhadra, Jim Rybarski, Isabel Strohkendl and Stella Wang.

Three students from the team, Vidhya Annem, Shreya Gupta and Anna Tutuianu, traveled to Boston to give a presentation on their project, which was to create an effective means to detect HIV-1 in infants in developing countries. The students also had the opportunity to meet teams from more than 40 countries, see other projects and attend workshops and talks.

Bryce Yeazell receives his first place trophy at the Regional Science Fair. Photo by Austin Regional Science Festival.

Bryce Yeazell receives his first place trophy at the Regional Science Fair. Photo by Austin Regional Science Festival.

Bryce Yeazell, also a student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, brought back first place in February from the Austin Regional Science Festival and third place in March from the Texas Science and Engineering Fair, both in cellular and molecular biology for his project, “Cyclin D and the Increased Proliferation of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells when Under Conditions with Higher Omega 6 to Omega 3 Ratios.”

Yeazell works in the laboratory of Linda deGraffenried, an associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and in Dell Medical School’s Departments of Oncology and Pediatrics, who said he “has been a highly productive member of the lab for three years now.” He first approached deGraffenried wanting to do research on breast cancer with a focus on moderating the disease with diet. After serving as a science fair judge for many years, and watching her own children compete in science fairs, deGraffenried said that she was happy to help. Brittainy Harlow, a Nutritional Sciences graduate student, also helped give guidance on laboratory techniques and interpreting results.

The 2017-2018 High School Research Initiative students at the Austin Regional Science Fair. Photo by Dennis Sheeter, St. Michael's Catholic Academy.

The 2017-2018 High School Research Initiative students at the Austin Regional Science Fair. Photo by Dennis Sheeter, St. Michael’s Catholic Academy.

Share