Westminster Christian Academy senior awarded for pre-collegiate science research

Katelyn Davidson, pictured far right

Katelyn Nicole Davidson, a senior at Westminster Christian Academy, was recently awarded the Partnership of Research Institutions’ Award for Excellence in Research.

This distinction was granted to 33 of 100 senior high school students participating in the University of Missouri-St. Louis STARS Program.

STARS gives students like Davidson the opportunity to conduct undergraduate-level research projects with prominent area scientists from UMSL, Arraybridge, Confluence Discovery Technologies, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis University, and Washington University in St. Louis. Davidson was paired with Washington University’s Dr. Kamlesh Patel, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery.

Davidson’s award was conferred after she presented her research paper, “Optimum Age for Primary Palatoplasty in Patients with Pierre Robin Sequence: Minimizing Post-Operative Complications,” to peers, parents, and project mentors.

Research papers were reviewed by a panel of experts from Monsanto, Confluence Life Science, Cortex, SIU-Edwardsville, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The reviewers looked for overall quality based on standards the scientific community uses to determine worthiness for formal publications.