Three Westerville Central High School students participated in an authentic STEM program and earned their Ohio STEM Honors Diploma in the process. Kathleen Curran, Nick Fields and Jonathan Zhu enrolled in OSU’s academy classes and participated in the STEM Bodies program offered at the PAST Foundation this year. The students completed 15 different medical rotations and internship seminars through several OSU schools such as clinical lab, nursing, dentistry, physical therapy and oncology at the James. In addition, each pupil participated in a 12-week long internship where they applied their classroom knowledge and skills in a professional setting. The students developed skills such as being an active and responsible decision maker, effective communicator, and being an engaged and hands-on learner. After completing their research, they created a portfolio demonstrating their extensive knowledge and critical thinking skills. In addition, each pupil led a poster presentation, which was reviewed and validated by external experts in their field of interest.
Curran collaborated with Nationwide Children’s Battelle Center for Mathematical Medicine to investigate preeclampsia, which the Mayo Clinic website defines as “a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system.” She studied the detection of misfolding proteins that are present in the urine of women presenting with preeclampsia. Although the research is still in the early stages, the hope is that one day these findings can be used to create a urine strip that could be utilized in developing countries to detect preeclampsia earlier.
Fields conducted research with American Orthopedics on the new Symphonie Aqua Systems. He helped his mentors determine if the Symphonie Aqua Systems was a better method to perform castings for prosthetic limbs versus the traditional vacuum method. The patient who tested the different methods found the Symphonie superior to traditional methods. During his final presentation, Fields said, “The coursework at Westerville Central prepared me and gave me the knowledge I needed to apply to my research. It all came full circle.”
Zhu partnered with Ohio State’s University Department of Internal Medicine to investigate gene expression in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. The lab hopes to better understand regulation of the gene in the hopes of implementing specific drug therapies. Zhu had the opportunity to perfect skills such as micropipetting, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and bacterial transformation using plasmids. These are all skills that are taught as a part of the health pathways in the district.
For more information about STEM Honors Diploma requirements, please visit the Ohio Department of Education’s website at: http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Ohio-s-Graduation-Requirements/Honors-Diplomas/STEM-Honors-Diploma.