2001 Summer Research Program for Students

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The STARS Summer Research Program gives science teachers and students an opportunity to work in a research environment. During the summer of 2001, 13 secondary science teachers from around the state of Texas and 11 high school juniors from the Dallas ISD started an eight-week summer internship working in research laboratories on the UT Southwestern Campus and affiliated institutions. Under the guidance of a faculty host, participants complete a research project and present their findings at the end of the summer.

Lucy Angle Townview Talented and Gifted High School , Dallas Host: Akshay Vakharia, M.D. Anaesthesiology &Pain Management		Lucy Angle, Townview High School TAG, Senior. Working with Akshay Vakharia, MD. in Anaesthesiology / Pain Management. Studying a form of acupuncture called PENS (percutaneous electronerve stimulation) for a homeopathic approach to pain management. Pictures show her researching and observing some procedures at the Pain Clinic.
Sofia Bitela Thomas Jefferson High School, Dallas Host: Yi Liu, Ph.D. Physiology		Sofia Bitela, Thomas Jefferson High School, Senior. Working in lab of Yi Liu, PhD in Physiology. Studying the mutations in the circadian rhythm of the fungus neurospora. Pictures show her preparing to inoculate slants and checking on their growth.
Veronica Cantu Skyline High School, Dallas Host: Lurdes Queimado, M.D., Ph.D. Pathology		Veronica Cantu, Skyline High School, Senior. Working in lab of Lurdes Queimado, MD, PhD. In Pathology. Manipulating yeast DNA and streaking plates for an Ultraviolet light survival experiment to determine if different genes are involved in DNA repair. Pictures show her streaking a plate.
Diana Chong Booker T Washington High School for Performing & Visual Arts, Dallas Host: Robert Toto, M.D. Internal Medicine		Diana Chong, Booker T Washington Performing/Visual Arts High School, Senior Working with Robert Toto, M.D., Internal Medicine. Doing a comparison study at the Dialysis Unit in Parkland of the standard test method to the new dialysis machine calculations. Pictures show her researching and analyzing data.
Erin Haley Townview Talented and Gifted High School , Dallas Host: Ravi Sarode, M.D. Pathology		Erin Haley, Townview H.S. TAG, senior. Working with Deanna Green and Joy Ashcraft in lab of Ravi Sarode, M.D. in Pathology. Establishing a normal for a collagen binding test for von Willebrand's disease. Pictures show her pipeting while performing the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay) test for collagen-binding and analyzing data on the computer.
Justin Lowery Skyline High School, Dallas Host: Stephen Hammes, M.D., Ph.D. Internal Medicine		Justin Lowery, Skyline High School, Senior. Working in lab of Stephen Hammes, MD, PhD. in Internal Medicine. Transfecting frog DNA into human DNA in order to mutate the human oocyte to convert cholesterol all the way to androstenedione instead of stopping at 17hydroxide progesterone. Pictures show him preparing to run a gel and setting up a vacuum.
Rene Padilla Woodrow Wilson High School, Dallas Host: Russell Scheffer, M.D. Psychiatry		Rene Padilla, Woodrow Wilson High School, Senior. Working with Russell Scheffer, MD, in Psychiatry. Creating a study for approval by the IRB (Institutional Review Board) that provides evidence for and mechanisms of how the increased dietary intake of omega 3 fatty acids has positive effects on ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) patients. Pictures show him performing his preliminary research for the study.
Nauman Poonja WT White High School, Dallas Host: Michael J. Bennett, Ph.D. Pathology		Nauman Poonja, WT White High School, Senior. Working with Richard Boriack, MS in lab of Michael J Bennett, PhD. in Pathology. Performing kinetic studies of isolated mitochondria by separating the mitochondria from the liver and muscle of rats and finding the levels of fatty acid oxidation using different chain substrates (enzymes) that he will synthesize. Pictures show Mr. Boriack showing him how to use the FERRA machine, which measures protein concentrations.
Lessia Runnels Pinkston High School, Dallas Host: Maureen Finnegan, Ph.D. Orthopaedic Surgery		Lessia Runnels, Pinkston High School, Senior. Working with Herman May in lab of Maureen Finnegan, MD. in Orthopaedic Surgery. Growing bone marrow and periosteum cells in culture, then combining them to see if periosteum cells will convert into bone marrow. Pictures show her checking cell cultures for confluency and taking images of them.
Suzanne Seal Seagoville High School, Seagoville Host: Linda Baker, M.D. Urology		Suzanne Seal, Seagoville High School, Senior. Working in lab of Linda Baker, M.D. in Urology. Comparative study using the weight, age, and diet of a child to conclude the causes for formation of calciumoxalate stones in the kidney. Pictured analyzing data from her study and preparing samples.
Andrew Tyner Seagoville High School, Seagoville Host: Zerrin Yetkin, Ph.D. Radiology		Andrew Tyner, Seagoville High School, Senior. Working in lab of Zerrin Yetkin, MD. in Radiology. Studying brain activation from FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans at the Meadows Imaging Center during a memory task test that uses pictures, such as landscapes and faces. Pictures show him analyzing graphical data from a test.
Neeta Abraham Austin College Student Hosted By: Linda Baker, M.D. Urology		Studying the development of the genitourinary tract in children by isolating and comparing normal DNA from the DNA of hypospadias patients. Pictured centrifuging samples and testing DNA concentrations in a spectrophotometer.
Flora Farago JJ Pearce High School, Richardson Student Hosted By: Helen Hobbs, M.D. McDermott Center Molecular Genetics		Flora Farago, JJ Pearce High School, Senior. Working with Knut Berge in lab of Helen Hobbs, MD. in the McDermott Center for Molecular Genetics. Pictures show her preparing DNA samples to run on gel electrophoresis machines for her study of cholesterol metabolism.
Bryan Kettlewell Garland High School, Garland Student Hosted By: Joe Albanesi, Ph.D. Pharmacology		Bryan Kettlewell, Garland High School, Senior. Working in lab of Joe Albanesi, Ph.D. in Pharmacology. Determine if palmitoylation of PI4 kinase is the reason why a protein is hydrophobic. Pictured preparing samples for gel electrophoresis.
Sophie Rutenbar Richardson High School, Richardson Student Hosted By: Xiaodong Wang, Ph.D. Biochemistry		Sophie Rutenbar, Richardson High School, Senior. Working in lab of Xiaodong Wang, Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Develop stable human cell lines that contain the DNA fragmentation gene Endo G spliced into a green fluorescence protein vector in order to track the movement of the Endo G protein. Pictures show her plating cells for her experiment and preparing to centrifige some samples.