As part of our commitment to make a difference in the communities where we live and work, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) was a proud sponsor of the 70th Annual Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF) that took place March 12-17 at Quinnipiac University. The CSEF works to encourage Connecticut students in Grade 7 and up to pursue independent scientific research.
Each year, more than 12,000 students compete for one of the 600 spaces at the statewide event through their school, regional and city fairs. This year, JAX sponsored a special award at the fair: The Jackson Laboratory Award for Excellence in Genomics-related research. Thirteen JAX staff participated at CSEF by serving as judges for this award and other award categories in math, computer science and life sciences. The winning projects for the JAX awards were:
- 1st Prize ($1000): Collin Marino, Autonomously Killing Cancerous cells by the Detection of up to Single Nucleotide Mutations
- 2nd Prize ($500): Thomas Foley and Thomas Kimberlin, A Lens to Explore Life on Other Planets: Using Targeted Genome Editing Technologies to Test Survival in Extraterrestrial Environments
Students were recognized during a special award ceremony Saturday at Quinnipiac University. Aimee Monroy-Smith, director of government and community relations, was in attendance to present the JAX awards to these deserving students.
A special thanks to all of the following JAX staff members who volunteered their time to engage with our young Connecticut scientists: Samir Amin, Kevin Anderson, Bill Flynn, Spencer Glantz, Rachel Goldfeder, Minji Kim, Alyssa Lau, Jihe Liu, Mike Peracchio, Paul Robson, Sarah Wojiski, Marina Yurieva, and Ada Zhan.