October 18, 2012

Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute Selects West Linn High School Student as Oregon Bio 2012 Research Pavilion Winner

Research Pavilion winner among 10 other Portland metro area students who presented their research to industry experts at this year’s Oregon Bioscience Association Conference

PORTLAND, Ore. – West Linn High School junior Priyanka Basak was selected as the winner of Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute’s (OTRADI) Research Pavilion “Best High School Student Poster” award given at this year’s Oregon Bioscience Association Conference. Basak’s winning research on cutting edge dental advances and experimental techniques was announced at the conference among her peers, competition judges, conference attendees and speakers.

OTRADI selected 20 Oregon companies and 11 students to showcase and present their research initiatives at the Research Pavilion featured at Oregon Bio 2012 last week. Student participants, who were invited by OTRADI Director Jennifer Fox, presented a research project of their choice to a panel of three judges, including Fox, Rich Wykoff, former general manager for Intel, and Bill Dieter, founder of Terrazign Inc.

“We want to encourage Oregon’s youth to explore career opportunities in an industry that fuels innovation and creates sustainable, high-wage jobs,” said Fox. “The Pavilion accomplishes that mission by incentivizing a student's hard work and rewarding them for their dedication, success and talent in science and technology."

At the Pavilion, students presented their research to the judges using posters and an interactive question and answer series. Basak was selected based on the scientific merit and overall presentation of her research. As part of her award, she received an Apple iPad provided by Terrazign Inc. Runner-up students will receive a $25 iTunes giftcard and a leather padfolio courtesy of HDR Architecture, Inc.

Students who participated in this year’s Pavilion are as follows:

  • James Bao, Westview High School, “The Effects of Aging on Ganglionic Innate Immunity in Rhesus Macaques to Simian Varicella Virus”
  • Priyanka Basak, West Linn High School, “The Lethality of High Calcium Concentration to Mesenchymal Cells as a Model for Restorative Dental Products”
  • Ryan Betters, Sunset High School, “Induced Differentiation Of Trypanosoma Brucei”
  • Adarsh Bhatt, Westview High School, “The Effect of Ric-3 on Lung Cancer and on the Functionality of Alpha 7 Receptors”
  • Teresa Condon, Wilsonville High School, “Computer Tools to Keep Research Efficient and Organized”
  • Julia McCarthy, St. Mary’s Academy, “Effects of Methamphetamine and Ethanol Exposure on Cytokine Production”
  • Heidi Oldenkamp, Canby High School, “Hydrogel Mixtures for Spinal Disc Replacement”
  • Roopa Ramanujam, Westview High School, “Characterizing Microbial Activity: A Comparison Between Discrete Sampling and High Resolution Instrumentation”
  • Divya Sridharan, Jesuit High School, “Effect of Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index on Carboxylesterase Activity in the Placenta”
  • Evelynne Suen, Tualatin High School, “Validation of a Novel Protein Reagent to Study Gene Function in the Cultured Mammalian Cochlea”
  • Alex Summers, Beaverton High School, “Creation and Characterization of Novel AAV Vector that Binds to Two Primary Cell Surface Receptors”

This is the second Research Pavilion OTRADI has hosted at Oregon Bioscience Association’s annual conference. The Pavilion is used to entice and educate potential partners and investors about Oregon’s rapidly growing bioscience industry and to educate Oregon’s youth about careers in the science and technology fields.

To learn more about ways students can partipicate in next year’s Pavilion, please visit the OTRADI and Saturday Academy: Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering Program websites.