GiS Spotlight: Junior Scientist Award winner Olivia Feeney
The Junior Scientist Award recognizes the top five outstanding proposals by middle school teams. Olivia Feeney, age 13, attends The Pierrepont School located in Westport CT. Olivia was recently featured by Westport News, read the article HERE. We asked Olivia to share some insights from her Genes in Space experience.
Briefly explain your experiment:
In microgravity the heart tends to shrink
and take on a rounded morphology. Because of this I would try to
identify the genes involved in cardiac health and maintenance, which
cause this to happen.
Why did you choose to participate in Genes in Space?
My teacher Peniel Dimberu started an
after school program for the Genes in Space competition, which I joined.
I found the topic of cardiac health very interesting and thought it would be a cool
experience to enter a competition like this. It also gave me a chance to
delve deeper into genetics and see how astronauts are affected on a
genetic level, in microgravity.
How did you choose your topic?
When I chose to research cardiac health, I
was looking for a topic that had not been researched thoroughly, and
one that we did not have all the answers to yet.
What did you gain by participating in Genes in Space?
Because of this competition I have gained
more knowledge in genetics and the effects of microgravity. And have
even inspired more peers from my school to enter next year.
Do you have any advice for future Genes in Space contestants?
For future Genes in Space contestants, I
advise you to choose a topic that truly interests and intrigues you and
fully research that topic in order to gain the knowledge you would need
to submit a compelling proposal.
