Calhoun Student Announced as Intel Semifinalist

Calhoun High School student Jenny Wu was recently announced as semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. Wu's project, titled "Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Potential Synergism of SB-T-1214 and Topotecan in Tumor-Targeting Drug Conjugates," dealt with the issue of the attack of both cancerous and non-cancerous cells in traditional chemotherapy.

In her study, Wu created a novel drug that sought out cancer cells while avoiding normal, healthy cells.  She explained that once the drug entered the cancer cell, the drug would release two cytotoxic agents that had the ability to destroy a tumor from the inside.

Wu continued her experiment with a second second component, which investigated whether releasing the two cytotoxic agents in succession would increase the activity of the drug. She came to the conclusion that an increase in the cytotoxic activity of the second agent would result from the prior release of the first agent. 

Wu was one of 300 semifinalists chosen from more than 1,744 entries.