Stony Brook Protein Challenge
Draws Huntington
Many of the best and the brightest Long Island high school science students are annually drawn to Stony Brook University's Protein Challenge. Huntington High School sent a team to the rugged competition and the group tied for first place on the written exam portion of the event.
A team of four students researched and developed Huntington's entry. The group consisted of Juliana Coraor, Andrea Cerini, Adam Cerini and Kaja Coraor. While the competition rules allow for an unlimited team size for research purposes, Stony Brook regulations permit just three team members to participate in the on-campus event. So Kaja Coraor stayed behind, although her overall contributions to the team effort were invaluable.
The Huntington group was accompanied to Stony Brook by Lori Pyzocha Kenny, a science teacher who heads the school's science research program and serves as the science club advisor.
The Huntington team spent several months researching the protein "Epidermal Growth Factor (EGFR)" and its interaction with the drug Tarceva, which inhibits a specific form of lung cancer.
Participating teams were sent a kit containing a Mini-Toober for use in building a model on a scale of 2 cm/amino acid. "Students will represent other important parts of the protein, such as amino acid side chains, DNA or associated molecules, where applicable, with materials of their choosing," according to the competition packet. "The additions to the Mini-Toober model should focus on illustrating the significance of the structure to the function of the protein. The models will be evaluated for accuracy. Students must provide a 3 x 5 note card explaining the creative additions to their model and what they represent." The models were sent to Stony Brook a week before the on-site competition.
When the teams assembled on the college campus, they were required to build a model "of a region of EGFR or a related protein." The teenagers were able to use a computer that was made available at the competition, with a Jmol application, a text editor, PDB file, structure summary page and "molecule of the month" files on it to guide in the model construction. "Students may only use one of the computers provided at the competition with the above-mentioned files on it to guide their model construction," according to the competition rules. "Any model handed to the judges after the end of the competition time (50 minutes) will not be accepted for scoring."
The competition also included a tough written exam about the relationship between protein structure and function with an emphasis on EGFR.
"Students had to use computer simulations to understand and build the protein and take a written exam on this specific protein and proteins in general," Mrs. Pyzocha Kenny explained. This marked the third year Huntington has participated in the event "and each year we have become more competitive," the teacher said.
The Huntington team was able to meet many other schools with members who are equally interested in the sciences while also having the opportunity to discuss career goals and have lunch with scientists.
The competition was made even more challenging with the restriction on team size. "Overall, on the written exam we tied for first, which was an impressive feat for the team," Mrs. Pyzocha Kenny said. "Our pre-build and on-site build improved since last year. It is an exciting event where the students get to meet other students who love science and develop their skills in science."
Mrs. Pyzocha Kenny is an energetic faculty member who encourages students in the science research program and science club to participate in regional and national competitions. She works with them and helps coordinate research opportunities with Long Island based scientists.