Lake Forest Grad Chosen for Respected Science Internship
Bar Harbor, Maine—Alex Ellison, Lake Forest Academy class of 2006, 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, Ellison will study genetics under the guidance of a staff scientist.
In Dr. Joel Graber's laboratory, Alex is studying "gene deserts", regions of the genome that were previously believed to serve no biological function. Alex is searching in and around these regions to find genes that play a role in early development.
Ellison is a rising junior at Connecticut College, where he is majoring in bioinformatics. Though he is also interested in economics, he thrives on the types of challenges that this field of biology presents to him. Of the summer program, Alex looks forward to “exploring the science industry and uncovering the opportunities within,” he says.
Alex joins 28 other college and high school students in this summer research opportunity. Their individual projects vary from genomics to development to immunology.
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 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 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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The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6051
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org
