The Journal of Young Investigators: An Undergraduate, Peer-Reviewed Science Journal
Volume 20, Issue 3. September 2010
Articles of the year
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Research Articles
18 December 2008 -
JYI has announced the winners of the articles of the year in the research, review and feature categories. A biography of each of the winners follows:
Winning article: Use of laser capture microdissection and cDNA microarrays for analysis of gene expression in lacrimal gland secretory cells of MRL/lpr mice by Hope E. Shaffer
I have always had an avid desire for the acquisition of knowledge, and two areas of special interest to me in high school were science and classical literature. My junior year, I was encouraged by one of my teachers to enroll in one of the University of Iowa's training programs in molecular biology for out of state high school students. I enjoyed my first taste of lab work and decided to major in biotechnology, but I also wanted to major in classical civilizations as well. Calvin College was an ideal choice for my undergraduate degree, since they are a small yet excellent academic institution that offered both of my desired degrees.
After my first semester at Calvin, I applied for a summer research position at Calvin with one of the professors. Though not many freshmen are usually chosen as research assistants, Dr. John Ubels offered me the position to work on a project involving genetic analysis of Sjogren's Syndrome using laser capture microdissection. I spent 12 weeks the summer of 2005 working on the project, and wrote the paper titled 'Use of laser capture microdissection and cDNA microarrays for analysis of gene expression in lacrimal gland secretory cells of MRL/lpr mice' on the data obtained from the project. Dr. Ubels encouraged me to submit the paper to JYI this past year, and it was published in November. I did several other research internships throughout my undergraduate career; two were with professors at Calvin, Dr. Matheson and Dr. Quemada, and one was as an Amgen Scholar at UCLA working with Dr. Hill.
I graduated in May 2008 from Calvin with my completed double major in biotechnology and classical civilizations. My experience at Calvin was amazing, and I know Calvin did an excellent job at preparing me for my career in science. The professors at Calvin are both exceptional teachers and mentors, and I owe almost all the skills and knowledge acquired over my 4 years of undergraduate work to my professors.
I am currently in my first year of graduate school at The Scripps Research Institute, with a Ph.D degree emphasis in neurobiology. I received the Fletcher Jones Foundation Fellowship earlier this fall from the graduate program. Even though I am not pursuing my classical civilization education as a career, I still enjoy studying the literature of ancient cultures, as well as more modern fantasy or mythic literature.
Winning article: Supply Side of Child Trafficking: Economic Analysis using Utility Models by Lock Wan Jun
Greetings to all! I am Wanjun Lock and I am a 22-year-old Singaporean female. Currently, I am in my Honours year majoring in Economics in the National University of Singapore (NUS). Economics was my favourite subject in high school when I first got acquainted with it. I like the way Economics seeks to explain real life phenomena and human behavior. Therefore, I chose to pursue Economics in university, instead of medicine which I was previously aiming for.
I am an active member of the NUS Economics Society, where I got to know like-minded Economics undergraduates. Throughout our time in the Economics Society, we organized events such as Economics quizzes for Singaporean high school students and exam solution sales for fellow Economics undergraduates. During our free time, we discuss pertinent real-world Economics issues such as the current global financial meltdown. My interest in Economics both at the theoretical and the practical level increased greatly.
In my second year of undergraduate studies, I wrote an independent research paper on child sex tourism. I sought to use economic crime models to model the behavior of traffickers who smuggle women and children across borders to work as prostitutes. I also analyzed the risk factors that increase the propensity of women and children being lured into the sex trade, and proposed ways to alleviate the situation. I was pleasantly surprised that I could use economic theories to look at this issue, because most of the literature I came across gave a sociological perspective.
In my third year, I wrote another independent research paper on the agriculture trade imbalance between developed and developing countries, and proposed ways in which the developed and developing countries could discuss the issue more amicably. I have since submitted this paper to JYI for publishing and am awaiting JYI's reply.
I will formally embark on my Honours Thesis in my final semester, which will last from January 2009 to April 2009. I am currently in the process of firming up my topic with my professor. If all goes well, I will be working on what should be the 'right' amount of compensation that should be given to a living organ donor, after taking into account factors such as the donor's occupation, lost earnings, present and future medical bills. The compensation should be just enough for the donor, meaning it should not create an economic incentive for the donor to donate his organs in order to earn profits. This is a pertinent issue in Singapore today. A committee will be formed in early 2009 to decide on this issue, which is good news for me since I will be doing my thesis at the same time. Hopefully, my research can contribute to the committee's quest to determine the 'right' compensation amount.
I am happy to do research on top of my regular academic studies as I firmly believe in applying what I learned and contributing to the academic community.
Winning article: The Springtime Blues: Understanding Seasonal Allergies by Neil Majithia
Neil Majithia is currently a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a member of both the Honors College and the university's guaranteed-admissions medical program. Although his immediate post-gradation plan is to attend medical school, Neil has a passion for the written word and hopes to use the knowledge he gains about medicine to enhance his writing abilities. The areas of medical science that Neil finds most intriguing include neuroscience, endocrinology, immunology, and anything that deals with the concept of intercellular communication.
Research
Winning article: Use of laser capture microdissection and cDNA microarrays for analysis of gene expression in lacrimal gland secretory cells of MRL/lpr mice by Hope E. Shaffer
I have always had an avid desire for the acquisition of knowledge, and two areas of special interest to me in high school were science and classical literature. My junior year, I was encouraged by one of my teachers to enroll in one of the University of Iowa's training programs in molecular biology for out of state high school students. I enjoyed my first taste of lab work and decided to major in biotechnology, but I also wanted to major in classical civilizations as well. Calvin College was an ideal choice for my undergraduate degree, since they are a small yet excellent academic institution that offered both of my desired degrees.
After my first semester at Calvin, I applied for a summer research position at Calvin with one of the professors. Though not many freshmen are usually chosen as research assistants, Dr. John Ubels offered me the position to work on a project involving genetic analysis of Sjogren's Syndrome using laser capture microdissection. I spent 12 weeks the summer of 2005 working on the project, and wrote the paper titled 'Use of laser capture microdissection and cDNA microarrays for analysis of gene expression in lacrimal gland secretory cells of MRL/lpr mice' on the data obtained from the project. Dr. Ubels encouraged me to submit the paper to JYI this past year, and it was published in November. I did several other research internships throughout my undergraduate career; two were with professors at Calvin, Dr. Matheson and Dr. Quemada, and one was as an Amgen Scholar at UCLA working with Dr. Hill.
I graduated in May 2008 from Calvin with my completed double major in biotechnology and classical civilizations. My experience at Calvin was amazing, and I know Calvin did an excellent job at preparing me for my career in science. The professors at Calvin are both exceptional teachers and mentors, and I owe almost all the skills and knowledge acquired over my 4 years of undergraduate work to my professors.
I am currently in my first year of graduate school at The Scripps Research Institute, with a Ph.D degree emphasis in neurobiology. I received the Fletcher Jones Foundation Fellowship earlier this fall from the graduate program. Even though I am not pursuing my classical civilization education as a career, I still enjoy studying the literature of ancient cultures, as well as more modern fantasy or mythic literature.
Review
Winning article: Supply Side of Child Trafficking: Economic Analysis using Utility Models by Lock Wan Jun
Greetings to all! I am Wanjun Lock and I am a 22-year-old Singaporean female. Currently, I am in my Honours year majoring in Economics in the National University of Singapore (NUS). Economics was my favourite subject in high school when I first got acquainted with it. I like the way Economics seeks to explain real life phenomena and human behavior. Therefore, I chose to pursue Economics in university, instead of medicine which I was previously aiming for.
I am an active member of the NUS Economics Society, where I got to know like-minded Economics undergraduates. Throughout our time in the Economics Society, we organized events such as Economics quizzes for Singaporean high school students and exam solution sales for fellow Economics undergraduates. During our free time, we discuss pertinent real-world Economics issues such as the current global financial meltdown. My interest in Economics both at the theoretical and the practical level increased greatly.
In my second year of undergraduate studies, I wrote an independent research paper on child sex tourism. I sought to use economic crime models to model the behavior of traffickers who smuggle women and children across borders to work as prostitutes. I also analyzed the risk factors that increase the propensity of women and children being lured into the sex trade, and proposed ways to alleviate the situation. I was pleasantly surprised that I could use economic theories to look at this issue, because most of the literature I came across gave a sociological perspective.
In my third year, I wrote another independent research paper on the agriculture trade imbalance between developed and developing countries, and proposed ways in which the developed and developing countries could discuss the issue more amicably. I have since submitted this paper to JYI for publishing and am awaiting JYI's reply.
I will formally embark on my Honours Thesis in my final semester, which will last from January 2009 to April 2009. I am currently in the process of firming up my topic with my professor. If all goes well, I will be working on what should be the 'right' amount of compensation that should be given to a living organ donor, after taking into account factors such as the donor's occupation, lost earnings, present and future medical bills. The compensation should be just enough for the donor, meaning it should not create an economic incentive for the donor to donate his organs in order to earn profits. This is a pertinent issue in Singapore today. A committee will be formed in early 2009 to decide on this issue, which is good news for me since I will be doing my thesis at the same time. Hopefully, my research can contribute to the committee's quest to determine the 'right' compensation amount.
I am happy to do research on top of my regular academic studies as I firmly believe in applying what I learned and contributing to the academic community.
Feature
Winning article: The Springtime Blues: Understanding Seasonal Allergies by Neil Majithia
Neil Majithia is currently a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a member of both the Honors College and the university's guaranteed-admissions medical program. Although his immediate post-gradation plan is to attend medical school, Neil has a passion for the written word and hopes to use the knowledge he gains about medicine to enhance his writing abilities. The areas of medical science that Neil finds most intriguing include neuroscience, endocrinology, immunology, and anything that deals with the concept of intercellular communication.