Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalist

Date: January 20, 2004

Bar Harbor, Maine - Sara Bumgardner, a senior at Muncy High School, Muncy, Penn., has been listed among 300 high school students from 36 states and Washington D.C. as a semi-finalist in the Intel Corporation's 63rd Science Talent Search--the oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition in America.

Selected from a record 1,652 applicants, Sara's competition entry is a project that she developed during her nine-week involvement in The Jackson Laboratory's historic Summer Student Program last year, with support from the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and the Allen C. Schroeder Endowed Fund.

Working under the direction of mentor Connie Birkenmeier in the laboratory of Senior Staff Scientist Dr. Jane Barker, Sara studied the expression of the Ank1 gene. This gene encodes a protein called ankyrin that plays a vital role in the stability of the red blood cell membrane. Ankyrin defects cause severe anemias in both mice and humans. Recently it was found that the Ank1 gene is also expressed in brain and muscle cells, thus raising the possibility that Ank1 defects may also cause neurological and muscular problems. Sara investigated this possibility in muscle cells.

Birkenmeier commented, "Sara's hard-work and initiative made her summer at The Jackson Laboratory a great success. Her project involved using techniques that we had not used before. In that way she made a valuable contribution to our work that is still being felt today. In addition, because of her attitude and enthusiasm, she was just plain great to be around."

Judged by a selection of top scientists on individual research ability, scientific originality, and creative thinking, a complete list of semi-finalists with research projects spanning fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, physics, social science, and other sciences is posted on the Intel Corporation's web site at http://www.sciserv.org/sts/63sts/alphsemi.asp. Sara and her school were each awarded a $1,000 prize. Forty finalists, to be announced on Wednesday, January 28, will be invited to attend the Science Talent Institute in Washington D.C. to compete for college scholarships totaling more than $500,000. The top 10 scholarship winners will be honored at a black-tie banquet ceremony on March 16.

The Jackson Laboratory's Summer Student Program, now entering its 75th year, offers qualified high school and college students the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of a sponsoring staff scientist. For more information on the program, please visit: http://www.jax.org/education/ssp.html.

Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058, joyce@jax.org

For information on automatic email delivery of news releases (journalists only), please send an email request for details to news@jax.org.

Media Relations, Communications Office
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6051
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org