Mentors build student biotech understanding

If there is such a thing, Daraun Prince must have the fascination gene.

During his senior year at Seattle’s Franklin High School, he went twice a week to see his mentors in the biochemistry labs at the University of Washington. He got his hands into an experiment there that looked at how a chick’s embryonic heart cells beat, then go through a genetic process to set up a steady heart rhythm.

By Luke Timmerman
Seattle Times business reporter

His eyes widen when he talks about it.

"I lost track of time," Prince said. "If I go into biology, I don’t think I’d ever want to go to sleep. There is so much to learn."

Prince explained what he learned to anyone willing to listen yesterday at the Student Biotech Expo, an unusual science fair at Shoreline Community College. He was one of more than 300 students from nine high schools there who were matched with real scientists from places like the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Amgen and ZymoGenetics.

The third annual event is sponsored by the Washington Biotechnology Foundation, which represents people from research institutes and biotech companies that want to improve public understanding of science and maybe inspire a young person to join the quest to cure disease. Many scientists consider public education part of their calling.

Not every student was as thrilled as Prince; that could be seen on those wearing headphones or twirling their hair in a morning speech. But if students so chose, they could turn their biological studies into art, molecular modeling, career research, Web sites or creative writing.

Ian Dahlseng, a senior at Ballard High School, said he learned about an enzyme that unzips the double strands of DNA. It’s one of the important early steps in DNA replication that creates new cells in children who are growing, or in adults who are constantly generating skin cells, for example.

To illustrate what he learned, Dahlseng pulled together balls of clay, wooden dowel pins and Plexiglas to build a 3-D model of the famed DNA double helix.

He enjoys biology, but not too much. He’s leaning toward becoming a fireman.

Others are leaning toward science. Annaliese Weber, a senior at Eastside Catholic High School, won a $100 cash prize for an experiment analyzing how fatty acids lead to the death of insulin-producing cells, a process linked to Type 2 diabetes.

She was especially curious how Native Americans have developed disproportionate rates of diabetes on fatty diets, which made her a natural match for a diabetes researcher working at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute.

The mentors were clearly a proud bunch.

One of Prince’s mentors said he caught on faster and was more focused than many undergraduates.

They are urging him to study science at the UW.

"Daraun can ask a biological question and think of an experiment that can answer it, which is really the hallmark of a good scientist, even at a young age," said Robert Welikson, a mentor.

Luke Timmerman: 206-515-5644 or [email protected]

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134661010_biostudents25.html