SPOKANE, Wash. – Eight high school students from Spokane will travel to Arizona in May for the prestigious Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.
The group of students was invited to the competition after presenting at a regional competition, and will present research on topics ranging from the effects of wildlife smoke on seeds, to a computational modeling project designing molecules related to inhibiting Alzheimer’s progression.
Ryan Lancaster, the public information officer for Spokane Public Schools, said the accomplishment was “unprecedented” and highlighted the status and magnitude of the competition.
“These eight students from SPS will compete alongside over 1,600 students from 65+ countries,” Lancaster said.
Allison Monkman
The group of students includes five students from Lewis and Clark High School and three students from Ferris High School.
Eight intelligent students
Three student projects qualified from Lewis and Clark High School, created by five total students. Eric Strate, the AP Biology/Biomedical Sciences teacher at Lewis and Clark High School, shared information about the projects.
Arjun Natessan’s project used “Use computational modeling to investigate the way different molecules interact with the opioid receptor, and in doing so developed a novel way to model molecular interactions that has never been used before and has vastly improved the accuracy of these computer models,” Strate said.
Arjun Natesan, Saanvi Krishnareddygari, Emma Chow, Sabrina Wang and Reagan Smith.
Saanvi Krishnareddygari’s project also used computational modeling to “design small molecules known as peptides that inhibited the amyloid aggregation that is a fundamental component of Alzheimer’s progression,” Strate said.
Three students, Reagan Smith, Emma Chow and Sabrina Wang, used computational modeling to “investigate molecules that may inhibit a receptor that is involved in the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases,” Strate said.
“This is the second time in the last three years that the Tigers have sent two projects to ISEF from the same competition. LC also earned the alternate spot for ISEF that will compete in Phoenix if one of the finalists is unable to attend,” Lewis and Clark High School shared on Facebook. “Every student who participated did a phenomenal job!”
Two projects from Ferris High School were selected for the conference, involving three students from the school.
Teddy Osborne and Anders Thogerson
Darci Hastings, the Ferris students’ teacher and research advisor, said the projects were completed as a part of the Biomedical Innovations class.
Teddy Osborn and Anders Thogerson investigated “the effect of wildfire smoke on the seeds of agricultural products grown in the Pacific Northwest,” Hastings said.
Allison Monkman “designed and tested a method to remove glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round Up) from agricultural waste water,” Hasting said.
“These three Saxon scientists will compete alongside over 1,600 students representing over 65 countries. Their work was done through the Ferris Biomed research program. Way to go Allison, Teddy and Anders!” Ferris High School wrote on Facebook.