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Summit students present first‑year biotech research in partnership with Rutgers
Summary
Summit High School students in a new biotechnology course presented yearlong projects, including DNA sequencing and protein identification, through a collaboration with Rutgers University’s Waxman program; teachers said ~20 students have published findings online and the program will send a student scholar next year.
Madeleine Trevay, the district’s supervisor of science, told the Board of Education on June 11 that Summit High School’s biotechnology class and club completed its first full year of research in collaboration with Rutgers University’s Waxman program.
Trevay said about 21 students were enrolled in the class and roughly 15 participate in the lunchtime club. Students isolate DNA, sequence clones and research the proteins their sequences code for; Trevay and students described one protein identification — a functional methyltransferase (YCBY) found in the plant Landoltia punctata (spotted duckweed), a species discussed for potential biofuel applications. Several students have already published their research online, and more sequences are pending publication.
Two students who attended the Rutgers poster forum described the hands‑on work: isolating DNA, sequencing, modeling proteins with provided software and producing 3‑D printed models of their results. Trevay said the Waxman program allows the district to nominate one Waxman summer scholar each year; students who attend return as teaching assistants to support the course.
Board members congratulated the students and noted that the program is an example of district partnerships that expand STEM opportunities for high school students.
Next steps include continued student sequencing work and sending a nominated student to the two‑week Waxman summer program next year.
