WORCESTER, MA — The traditional science fair format got turned upside down this week at UMass Chan Medical School, where Worcester high school students became the judges.
Nearly 50 sophomores, juniors and seniors from Burncoat Senior High School, Doherty Memorial High School, University Park Campus School and Claremont Academy evaluated research presentations from graduate students and postdoctoral scholars during the annual Reverse Science Fair on Wednesday.
Students enrolled in biotech and Advanced Placement biology programs judged posters presented by researchers from the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
“I judged the grad and postdoc students on how they expressed and explained their research, the information they presented on the board and how well they were able to keep our interest during their presentations,” said Yasmin Ahmed, a junior at Burncoat Senior High School.
Kelise Abdulmassih, a junior at Doherty Memorial High School who hopes to study pre-med in college, said the event offered a firsthand look at advanced scientific research.
“The fair was a great experience,” Abdulmassih said. “It was interesting to see these projects and hear from graduate students and have them explain to us well enough that we can understand their research.”
Before the event, students received short descriptions of the research projects to prepare for their role as judges. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars each led three 15-minute presentations for small groups of students.
Among the presenters was Carolyn Kraus, a PhD candidate in Erik Sontheimer's lab, who shared research on CRISPR gene editing and the development of safer tools for treating genetic diseases.
“It was a lot of fun breaking my research down to a level that almost anybody can understand and present it in a way that keeps a student’s attention,” Kraus said. “I hope we’ve been able to convey the potential of science and the value of tinkering and experimenting.”
Cole Pero, a PhD student in Nobel Prize winner Craig C. Mello’s lab, presented research on how cells process DNA information into functional messenger RNA. To explain the complex process, Pero compared a protein involved in the system to a nightclub bouncer blocking unwanted material from leaving the cell nucleus.
“I’m not used to having to avoid jargon and really focusing on bridging what the student might already know to explaining a more nuanced molecular pathway,” Pero said. “I was worried my data wasn’t easy to follow so I created a clear visualization that I think was helpful.”
Additional presenters included graduate students and postdoctoral researchers Najihah Aziz, Priya Hedge, Disha Khanna, Victoria Louis, Michela Oster, Brittany Rosener and Carolyn Senneca.
The Reverse Science Fair was organized through ScienceLIVE, a STEM outreach initiative run by staff at the RNA Therapeutics Institute at UMass Chan.
“We need to do everything we can to bolster the next generation of scientists to continue pursuing things that interest them. It’s a great investment of our time,” said Mary Pickering, director of public engagement with science at the RNA Therapeutics Institute. “These students get to see some cutting-edge research and get the opportunity to interact with people who are a little closer in age to them than their teachers.”
Pickering organized the event alongside Jennifer Li Ordonez and Elizaveta Shiltseva, both PhD students at UMass Chan.
Students also met with several members of the UMass Chan scientific community, including professors and researchers from the fields of neurobiology, psychiatry, cancer biology and microbiology.
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