NCSSM Grad Chosen for Respected Science Internship
Bar Harbor, Maine—Elizabeth Derrhake, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics class of 2008, has been selected to participate in this year’s installment of The Jackson Laboratory’s Summer Student Program. The prestigious program draws high school and undergraduate students to the coast of Maine for an intensive, hands-on learning experience. For eight weeks, Deerhake will study computational biology under the guidance of a staff scientist.
Specifically, Elizabeth will be researching genes related to kidney disease and hypertension in Dr. Gary Churchill's laboratory, hoping to contribute to understanding of those conditions. "I'll be using statistics to determine likely locations for the genes," she explains.
Elizabeth will be attending Yale University in the fall, where she hopes to pursue a degree in biochemistry. “I enjoy research, but maybe want to go to medical school,” she says of her ultimate plans.
Deerhake joins 28 other college and high school students in this summer research opportunity. Their individual projects vary from genomics to development to bioinformatics. Participants reside at Highseas, 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 in-town adventures complement their time spent uncovering new data in the lab.
Since its inception in 1924, the Summer Student Program has led many students into the world of professional research. Eighty-percent of the 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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Phone: 207-288-6051
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Email: news@jax.org
