MDI graduate is Lab summer student
BAR HARBOR - Harmony Bell, a 2008 graduate of Mount Desert Island High School, 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, Ms. Bell will study the phenomenon of aging, under the guidance of a staff scientist.
Specifically, Ms. Bell will be studying bone marrow stem cells in the laboratory of David Harrison, Ph.D. These stem cells become more susceptible to mutational damage as they age, which suggests their role may increase as an individual ages. She will be designing her own experiments.
Ms. Bell will be entering the University of New England in the fall, where she will study medical biology and physical therapy.
She joins 28 other college and high school students, including three other Mainers, in this summer research opportunity. Their individual projects vary from genomics to development to bioinformatics.
Participants reside at Highseas, a nearby century-old mansion, and can take part in the many recreational opportunities of Mount Desert Island. Weekend camping trips, spontaneous hikes throughout Acadia National Park and a whitewater 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 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.
