Thursday, August 17, 2006

Pediatrics High School Summer Internship Program Graduates

By Phyllis Brown

When he returns to high school this fall and friends ask how he spent his summer vacation, Bart Lopez will be able to say something truly unique.

Lopez can tell them that he researched the “Implementation of a New Radiation Dose-Reduction Strategy for CT Protocols in a Neuroradiology Section.”

Lopez’s summer experience came courtesy of the 2006 UCSF Pediatrics High School Student Summer Internship Program in Biomedical and Health Sciences. He is one of 21 minority and economically disadvantaged students who last Friday graduated from the program, founded by Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, associate adjunct professor of pediatrics. The program gives students a hands-on introduction to the world of science and medicine.

The students, all of whom completed a research project like Lopez’s and presented their results at the ceremony, were honored for their achievement with an official certificate of recognition presented by Mark Leno, who represents San Francisco’s 13th district in the California State Assembly.

Leno, a longtime supporter of science and math education in California’s public schools, praised the students for their diligence and the summer internship program for making the opportunity possible.

“I am here to congratulate you, to encourage you and to say ‘well done,’” Leno said. “It is your minds and your futures that will help us lead the world in so many disciplines.

Assemblyman Mark Leno stands with graduate Santelia Rose, a student from San Francisco’s Lick-Wilmerding High School.
Photos/Ron Sieg

“California has the sixth-largest economy in the world, and in order to remain competitive, it is crucial that we have programs like this one to train young people in science and math education,” Leno added.

The certificate of recognition reads, in part: “This milestone (was) the beginning of a journey toward fulfilling your dream of entering the medical profession. Congratulations and best wishes on your future endeavors!”

During the eight-week-long program, which started in mid-June, interns were placed with a research group or laboratory, where they had to work with graduate students, medical students, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants and faculty members, who became their mentors.

In addition to conducting a research project, the interns attended lectures on a variety of subjects, such as the treatment of human and animal subjects, patient confidentiality and the scientific method.

Mentors often assisted interns with college applications and provided them with letters of recommendation. Former interns have been admitted to prestigious colleges and universities throughout the country.

Rave Reviews

Joe Wiemels, PhD, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, mentored Alexander Tran of Milpitas High School in Milpitas and Anny Xiao of Berkeley High School. He praised the students’ performance.

“I thought the students were great,” Wiemels said. “Professors always say that undergraduates are better than graduate students, and that graduates are better than postdoctoral fellows. These students were really quick to retain information.”

Assemblyman Mark Leno and UCSF’s Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, pose with the graduates of the summer internship program. (See image larger)

Bart Lopez’s mother, Linda Perry, of Pleasanton, said both she and her son could not have been more thrilled with the summer program experience.

“He got to do things that some people never have the opportunity to do in their entire lives,” Perry said. “He held a human heart and a human brain in his hands. He got to see open heart surgery. It’s very rare for a 17-year-old to experience things like that.”

“This is a wonderful public service to the community,” she said.

Participants and Research Projects

Philip Auyang, Foothill High School, Pleasanton;
Mentors: Miles Pufall and Hans Luecke.
Research Project: “Structural Studies of Steroid Hormone Receptor DNA Binding.”

I’Alla Brodie, Foothill High School, Pleasanton;
Mentor: Kirby Lee;
Research Project: “Publish or Perish? The Fate of Rejected Manuscripts by Major Biomedical Journals.”

Daneille Brown, Oakland Technical High School, Oakland;
Mentors: Lisa Wilmes, Catherine Klifa and Sheye Aliu.
Research Project: “Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Monitoring Chemotherapy Treatment of Breast Cancer.”

Martha Cervantes, Gundeson High School, San Jose;
Mentors: Elissa Epel and Stephanie Wilson.
Research Project: “How Do Women Cope with the Chronic Stress of Dementia Caregiving?”

Jonathan Cheng, George Washington High School, San Francisco;
Mentor: Susan Noworolski.
Research Project: “MR Spectroscopy to Measure Liver Fat in HIV+/Hepatitis C+ Patients.”

Debbie Huang, Mission High School, San Francisco;
Mentors: Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, Jodi Cornell and Malena Ramos.
Research Project: “Internship Program Evaluation: Our Perspective.”

Lauren Jann, Abraham Lincoln High School, San Francisco;
Mentor: Timothy Quinn.
Research Project: “An Artificial Protein That Converts VEGF into a Cell Death Factor.”

Tyler Jurich, Foothill High School, Pleasanton;
Mentor: Irene Yen.
Research Project: “BACAADA: Bay Area Chinese American Adolescent Depression and Aggression.”

Segen Ketema, Berkeley High School, Berkeley;
Mentors: Paul Brakeman, Jean Olson, Robert Mathias and Christina Lo.
Research Project: “Treatment of Pediatric Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis with Tacrolimus.”

James Kim, Washington High School, Fremont;
Mentor: Wolf Mehling.
Research Project: “What Is Body Awareness and Can We Measure It?”

Anna Kong, Mission High School, San Francisco;
Mentor: Lisa Hornberger.
Research Project: “Does Fetal Echocardiography Obviate the Need for a Neonatal Echocardiogram for Trisomy 21 Patients in the Absence of Clinical Abnormalities?”

Diego Lopez, Newark Memorial High School, Newark;
Mentors: Michael Cabana, Michelle McKean, Michelle Rait, Leah Jarlsberg and Meaghan Pai-Dhungat.
Research Project: “Predictors of Patient Dissatisfaction with Outpatient Care at UCSF.”

Edward “Bart” Lopez, College Preparatory School, Oakland;
Mentors: William Dillon and Max Wintermark.
Research Project: “Implementation of a New Radiation Dose Reduction Strategy for CT Protocols in a Neuroradiology Section.”

Ken Mak, George Washington High School, San Francisco;
Mentor: Irene Yen.
Research Project: “BACAADA: Bay Area Chinese American Adolescent Depression and Aggression.”

Martha Pietrucha, Wilcox High School, Santa Clara;
Mentors: Judith Moskowitz, Judith Wrubel, Stephanie Maurer and Jen Hult.
Research Project: “Disclosure of Status by People Recently Diagnosed with HIV.”

Joseph Rodrigues, Aragon High School, San Mateo;
Mentors: Harold Bernstein, Frank King and Conrad Epting).
Research Project: “The Cloning of a GST-IDE Fusion Protein.”

Santelia Rose, Lick-Wilmerding High School, San Francisco;
Mentors: Michael Cabana, Michelle McKean, Michlle Raite, and Leah Gonzales.
Research Project: “Use of Alternative Medications for Pediatric Asthma.”

Arya Srinivasan, the Harker School, San Jose;
Mentor: Kristine Madsen.
Research Project: “An Assessment of Self-Efficacy to Prevent and Treat Pediatric Obesity.”

Alexander Tran, Milpitas High School, Milpitas;
Mentor: Joe Wiemels.
Research Project: “Fine Mapping of TEL-AMLI Translocation Breakpoints on Chromosomes 12 and 21 in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells.”

Suma Viswanadha, Washington High School, Fremont;
Mentor: Susan Fisher-Owens.
Research Project: “Practitioner’s Assessment of Psychiatric History: A Descriptive Study.”

Anny Xiao, Berkeley High School, Berkeley;
Mentor: Joe Wiemels.
Research Project: “Tetranucleotide Instability and Its Relation to Childhood Leukemia.”