Over-Educated Problems

17-year-old Shree Bose was crowned the grand prize winner for her work with chemotherapy drug Cisplatin, a common treatment for ovarian cancer. The Texas high school student figured out a way to counteract the resistance by the cells to treatment over time, allowing the drug to be effective. Bose was awarded a $50,000 scholarship, a 10-day trip to the Galapagos Islands with a National Geographic researcher, and an internship at the CERN particle physics laboratory in Switzerland.

Taking first place in the 15-16 year old bracket was Oregon student Naomi Shah. Ms. Shah won for her research on the effects of air quality on lungs and how it can affect asthmatics’ reliance on medication.

In the 13-14 year old competition, Lauren Hodge of Pennsylvania won for her study of how some marinades can reduce carcinogens on grilled meats. According to Digital Trends “She found that lemon juice and brown sugar significantly reduced the level of cancer-causing elements, while soy sauce actually increased the danger posed by grilling meat.” Who would have figured THAT out?

Both Shah and Hodge each won a $25,000 scholarship, along with internships at Google and LEGO.

I am so amazed at the types of research and study that were entered into the contests. When I saw the headlines of Google Science Fair results, I was expecting robots and computer programs. I am more than surprised by the focus on health sciences, and applaud these young people for such diligence and innovative thinking.

So what were you doing in high school? Were you involved in scholarship contests? How about science projects? If you are a high school student now, the video of the awards presentation is available at the Google Science Fair website, as well as the guidelines for entering the 2012 competition. Good luck to you!

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