Twelve seniors participated in the School's Science Research Program this summer, completing six-to-eight-week internships at local research laboratories. Their projects ranged from running flight tests on firefighting drones at a University of Maryland lab to helping examine the effects of traumatic brain injury on anxiety at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.
For more than a decade, Holton's program has been providing participants with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a professional laboratory setting—an experience that builds familiarity, skills, and confidence, while also helping students expand their network and explore college and career options.
After an application process, just over 10 girls are selected each year and matched with one of the School's partner institutions. Before their internships begin (the summer before their senior year), students take courses that help them prepare: Computer Programming and Robotics for those pursuing engineering-based internships, and Microbiology and Molecular Biology for those who will work in the biomedical field.
Research Program coordinator Dr. Hannah Krug says that project mentors are frequently "blown away by how well-prepared Holton students are," and they "ask us for students year after year."
This year's 12 participants shared their experiences with fellow Upper School students during presentations on Thurs., Sept. 19.
Among them was Raeyan Syed '20, who spent her summer working on creating an "atlas" of a baboon's brain—a complex mapping that helps with analysis—at Howard University Hospital. "I never thought I would get the chance to intern at a lab as a high schooler, so I am incredibly grateful that I had this opportunity," she says.
Raeyan has long pondered becoming a doctor and has been interested in working with the brain in particular. "This internship confirmed that I really enjoy this work," she says.
Roshini Balan '20 explored preventive measures against ovarian cancer at Inova Fairfax Hospital's Women's Health Integrated Research Center. "I really liked my placement because I didn't get to study just one project," she says. "Rather, I was introduced to a whole host of other scientific concepts and skills."
She admits she was intimidated when she first started, but moving well beyond her comfort zone was ultimately extremely empowering. "I think the experience made me more independent," she says. "I really know what it's like to be accountable to not only yourself but to a mentor and his or her project. I know this will help me a lot in future endeavors."
Below is a full list of 2019 Science Research Program participants, project titles, and partner organizations. (Please check back for links to student presentations, which we will share here once they are available!)
Roshini Balan: "Investigating the Synergistic Effects of Calcitriol on Progesterone" (Inova Fairfax Hospital's Women's Health Integrated Research Center)
Morgan Bedingfield: "Using Ultrasound to Vaporize Droplets Embedded in a Gelma Scaffold" (George Washington University School of Engineering & Applied Science"
Olivia Boykin: "Biofilm Formation by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa" (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
Laura Canseco: "Firefighting Drone Project" (University of Maryland Institute for Systems Research)
Francesca Cetta: "Studying the Effects of SB27" (George Washington University Milken School of Public Health)
Lauren Cooke: "Dark Matter in Low-Mass Dwarf Galaxies" (University of Maryland Astronomy Department)
Samantha Curley: "The Role of Metalloestrogens in Hormone-Independent Activation of ER⍺" (Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center)
Pascale Schmidt: "Maximizing Knowledge Gained from Senate Bill 27" (George Washington University)
Emily Shapland: "FMRP Expression in the Visual System" ("Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's Hospital)
Raeyan Syed: "Creating an Atlas of a Baboon's Brain for PET Imaging" (Howard University Hospital)
Skye Worster: "Urban Mobility eVTOL" (University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering)
Lilly Zheng: "The Effect of Mild Blast-Induced TBI on Fear Conditioning in Mice" (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
Learn more about Holton's Science Research Program and commitment to STEM.