Bergen County Academies Student Places 2nd in DNA Essay Contest

Sophia Spiegel, a junior at Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, N.J., won second place in the DNA Day Essay Contest. In commemoration of National DNA Day, the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) hosted the 2017 DNA Day Essay Contest to encourage high school students and teachers to learn about human genetics concepts beyond the standard curriculum.

“Recent advances in biology have made gene therapy, the focus of this year’s contest, more promising than ever, and have expanded the field beyond its original concept,” said Michael Dougherty, PhD, Director of Education for ASHG. “We were interested to see students’ perspectives on these advances and their potential effects in the clinic.”

National DNA Day, celebrated annually on April 25, commemorates the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure and the completion of the Human Genome Project, two key milestones in the field of genetics. Each year since 2006, ASHG has run a DNA Day Essay Contest to challenge students to examine, question, and reflect on important concepts in human genetics by writing an original essay. Winning essays use well-reasoned arguments to show a grasp of topics that are not always well-covered in high school biology courses.

This year, the contest invited students to choose one modern example of gene therapy, describe the disease or condition researchers are attempting to treat, and explain how the therapy/approach might repair the underlying cause of the disease or condition.

Students from 38 U.S. states and 21 non-U.S. countries submitted essays to the contest this year. Human genetics specialists belonging to ASHG and its leadership read and evaluated entries for their scientific accuracy, creativity, and overall writing quality.

“This year’s essays continue the tradition of high-quality submissions by high school students from the U.S. and abroad that we have seen for the past 12 years, and their enthusiasm for the science reflects the excitement that our members feel about their work,” said Joseph D. McInerney, MS, Executive Vice President of ASHG. “Through this contest and our other K-12 initiatives, we hope to encourage young people to explore and enjoy genetics.”

For details on the 2017 contest winners, including photos and excerpts from winning essays, see: http://www.ashg.org/education/dnaday_winners_2017.shtml.