Lowcountry high school student achieves beyond local science fair

Not many 16 year olds can say they understand cardiac spheroids and how they relate to human cardiac tissue regeneration-but Jenny Yao can.

Yao has an incredible mind for science. An 11th grade student at Academic Magnet High School, she participated in the 37th Annual Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair (LSF) in April. Competing against 123 other students in grades 5 through 12 from Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Georgetown counties, she emerged victorious.

She was awarded first place for her project titled “Identifying Limiting Nutrient on Stem Cell Spheroid Viability for Human Cardiac Tissue Regeneration.” She worked on this promising project in the Clemson University lab of Ying Mei, Ph.D. Mei is an assistant professor in the joint Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering Program, which is geared toward educating and preparing students for careers in bioengineering and related fields.

“I am very appreciative of the opportunities that MUSC and the joint Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering Program have afforded me, allowing me to work with innovative mentors in such a unique research environment,” Yao said.

In addition to winning first place, Yao won numerous other special awards at the LSF, including MUSC’s prestigious Medical Scientist Training Program Award for Excellence in Biomedical and Biological Science Research, which is awarded to a high school junior or senior whose project is deemed outstanding.

“Receiving the MUSC MSTP Award at the Lowcountry Science Fair was a great honor,” Yao said. “This recognition helped to bolster my interest in and commitment to working toward admission into an MSTP Program and continuing my research in biomedical engineering.”

Tony Kwon, an LSF 2017 judge and current student in MUSC’s MSTP, collaborated with the program’s longtime director, Perry Halushka, M.D., Ph.D., to create the MUSC MSTP award back in 2014.

In an effort to give back to the scientific community, Kwon has been a judge for the LSF for the past three years. He enjoys encouraging young science students to pursue their interests in the field. When Kwon saw Yao’s project at this year’s LSF competition, he knew that she was not like most other high school students.

“Her project was very original, but to me what stood out was that she seemed to really know the science behind her project,” he explained.

Kwon is now entering his fourth year at MUSC, working toward completing the M.D.-Ph.D. program and realizing his lifelong goal of becoming a physician–scientist. Not many have what it takes to complete this program, and Kwon is doing his part to foster growth in other young scientists who may want to take the same path.

“I’m just really happy with how the program has been able to support the Lowcountry Science Fair so far. I think we have made an incredible impact on those young students’ intellectual growth by encouraging them to follow their curiosity and learn beyond the school curriculum,” Kwon said. “It will be really exciting to see where those students eventually end up.”

A triumphant Yao recently traveled to Los Angeles to present her winning project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. There she won an Intel ISEF Special Award and a full presidential scholarship to the Florida Institute of Technology.

“I sincerely appreciate MUSC’s support of my research ventures and aim to further my own studies in the pursuit of returning to Intel ISEF next year,” Yao said of her plans for the near future.

Kwon can rest assured knowing Yao will be capable of even more impressive achievements after high school and, like him, may even go on to be part of the MUSC Medical Scientist Training Program.