Students, scientists, parents, donors, school officials, and other invited guests gathered in a conference room at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center to honor “graduates” of the partnership program between the center and Central Bucks School District (CBSD). Each of the program’s participants were inducted into the Blumberg Alumni Association.
CB South student Miranda Song (grade 11) explains her research, “Anti-Aging Business Creation Through Maestro Protein Docking Analysis,” to CBSD Superintendent Dr. John J. Kopicki
Located in Doylestown, the facility is home to the Hepatitis B Foundation, one of the premier biotech incubators in the United States. The Foundation has been responsible for important developments in hepatitis C and hepatitis B research, as well as the development of successful biotech start-ups. Each day, fifteen students, five from each CBSD high school (CB East, CB South, and CB West), were transported to the center, where they took advanced placement chemistry on site and engaged in an internship that lasted several months. Student participants then entered individual research projects into STEM competitions, where they performed remarkably well.
CB East Junior Madison Charingo gave brief remarks at the ceremony, during which she praised the inaugural program’s success, “This year, an unfamiliar group of students from all three high schools in this district have joined to form a tight-knit community, united to navigate the inaugural year of this program. Through months of experience in the labs, we’ve not only gained proficiency and experience in the protocols we’ve been trained in, but we’ve gained a deeper understanding of many fields of study that could’ve never been provided in a traditional classroom setting. The research we’ve conducted is unrivaled by high school students across the nation, and because of this program, we all will enter our future careers with advanced knowledge and skills.”
The program was funded in part through donations from Fred Beans Family of Dealerships.
More at www.cbsd.org/news.