Published:
May 3, 2021

Author:
Office of Marketing and Communications

Three talented high school students in the San Diego region have been honored with a Scripps Research Young Scientist Award, which celebrates their success on a biological sciences project that displays extensive knowledge, innovation and determination.

Each of the winners received a custom trophy and an award of $1,000 from the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences at Scripps Research. Their projects, which were presented at the San Diego Regional Science Fair, were ultimately selected by a team of five Scripps Research scientists. The winning students were recognized in a virtual community symposium.

This year’s winners are:

• Bhadra Rupesh, a freshman at The Bishop’s School. Bhadra is advised by her teacher Lani Keller and presented her work in the category of Medicine and Health entitled “Finding Risk Factors for Severe COVID-19 Through A Meta-Analysis of Interferon-Pathway-Affecting Genes.”
• Daniel Wang, a junior at Torrey Pines Highschool. Daniel is advised by his teacher Brinn Belyea and presented his work in the category of Biochemistry entitled “Tackling COVID-19: A General Approach to Develop Novel ‘Superglue’ Drugs.”
• Ellen Xu, a sophomore at Del Norte High School. Ellen is advised by her teacher Andrea Callicott and presented her work in the category of Medicine and Health entitled “Developing a Robust Deep Ensemble Network for Kawasaki Disease Early Diagnosis.”

All three students impressed the Scripps Research judges with their articulate presentations, innovative and creative projects, and obvious enthusiasm for science and research.

“Showing such progress and dedication in a difficult year was especially impressive,” says Daniel Murin, PhD, a Scripps Research staff scientist who judged the fair projects and helped launch the awards program in 2019. “Each student’s project took advantage of bioinformatic and computational approaches to answer their questions—a most appropriate technique in a year when it was nearly impossible to work outside the home.”

In addition to their trophy and financial reward, winning students each received a letter from Murin; Dawn Eastmond, PhD, director of Graduate Studies; and Philip Dawson, PhD, dean of the graduate school.

The award is given in conjunction with the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences at Scripps Research, with the goal of encouraging young scientists to continue their research efforts into undergraduate and graduate school, Murin says.

“Encouraging students to pursue career paths in STEM fields, especially women and minorities, helps to enrich creative thought into our scientific community and ensures that future generations will continue to pursue paradigm-shifting knowledge that will improve the lives of our communities,” Murin said in a virtual ceremony on Saturday, May 1. “The cornerstone of such endeavors is rooted in inspiring young minds to the vast world of scientific discovery and to then encourage and nourish scientific development through each stage of a student’s life.”