New Bern Grad Chosen for Respected Science Internship
Bar Harbor, Maine--Sarah Amend, New Bern High School class of 2004, has been selected to participate in this year's installment of The Jackson Laboratory's Summer Student Program (SSP). The prestigious program draws top high school and undergraduate students to the coast of Maine for an intensive, hands-on learning experience. For eleven weeks, Sarah will study genetics under the guidance of a staff scientist.
In the laboratory of Professor Beverly Paigen, Ph.D., Sarah, and with Drs. Susan Sheehan and Ron Korstanje as mentors, Sarah will be studying a candidate gene for the production of HDL (good cholesterol). If she verifies the gene's role in the production of this cholesterol, future research may find a way to regulate its activity and potentially treat or even prevent heart disease.
Sarah will begin her last year at North Carolina State University this fall, where she is majoring in Biological Sciences and earning a minor in genetics. Her summer at the Jackson Lab will contribute to her preparation for a future career in clinical genetics. Of her experience with the Summer Student Program, Sarah is most excited about "being around a group of young, excited scientists and learning from them as well as my mentors."
Sarah joins 28 other college and high school students in this summer research opportunity. Their individual projects vary from genomics to development to bioinformatics. All participants reside at the Highsseas, a nearby, century-old mansion, and revel in the many opportunities that Mount Desert Island offers. Weekend camping trips, spontaneous hikes throughout Acadia National Park and a white water rafting adventure complement their time spent uncovering new data in the lab.
Since its inception in 1924, the Summer Student Program has led students into the world of professional research. Eighty -percent of the SSP program's more than 2,200 alumni have gone on to successful careers in medicine or biomedical research. Two particular program graduates, Drs. David Baltimore and Howard Temin, received the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The summer interns are an integral part of the Jackson Laboratory's operation, providing fresh perspectives and keen enthusiasm.
The Jackson Laboratory (www.jax.org) is a nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community
Contact: Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058
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