Smithtown High School East Senior, Emily McDermott was presented with a special Proclamation by Legislator Leslie Kennedy this week, for her research in STEM science. The budding scientist is one of 300 students throughout the Country to be named an Intel Semi-Finalist. Last Tuesday, Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) saw it fitting to honor McDermott, before the full legislature.
“Not many young people are capable of doing what this young lady is able to accomplish in a lab, she is an inspiration for young men and women who want to go into the sciences” – Legislator Leslie Kennedy.
Her project, “Developing an Experimental Model for Natural Variation in Genetic Robustness,” studies the concepts of environmental and genetic robustness as reflected through complex network of molecular interactions. McDermott used wild strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, budding yeast, to develop an experimental model in order to examine the relationship of robustness in the natural world. Emily was responsible for writing her own computer code to conduct the study in addition to all experimental studies. All research was conducted in the lab of Dr. Joshua Rest, with a team of Stony Brook University specialists.
The Intel STS is the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition, providing an important forum for original research that is recognized and reviewed by a national jury of professional scientists. Only 300 students nationwide are chosen as semifinalists and their schools annually. Out of those 300, 40 students will be chosen as finalists to head to Washington, D.C. for final judging, display their work to the public, and meet with notable scientists and government leaders. Each year, Intel STS semi-finalists and finalists compete for $1.6 million in awards.
For more information on this event or other events in the community, please call the office of Legislator Leslie Kennedy at (631)-854-3735. You can also visit Legislator Kennedy’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/legislatorlesliekennedy.