Xiuya Yao, a senior at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School, has been named a 2015 finalist in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.
Yao is a participant in The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt, a program of the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach at Peabody College of education and human development.
Her qualifying research project, “Integrin-Free Tetraspanin CD151 as a Biomarker of PSA-Relapse in Prostate Cancer,” was a partnership with Vanderbilt Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology Andries Zijlstra.
Yao is one of four semifinalists from Tennessee in 2015.
“Xiyua is the 15th SSMV student to be named a semifinalist in the six years that our students have participated in this prestigious competition,” Angela Eeds, SSMV director, said. “Xiuya’s work is representative of both the caliber that Siemens seeks and what the SSMV guides students to achieve. We could not be more proud of her.”
SSMV offers high school students a four-year interdisciplinary, research-centered learning experience. It is a joint venture between Vanderbilt University and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
SSMV students attend one day a week during high school in the SSMV classroom in the Wyatt Center at Peabody. They are matched with a Vanderbilt faculty member in their junior year to complete a research internship. While in the laboratory, students contribute to the scientific research goals of the professor through completion of an independent project. Students present this research project in several formats and compete in several national science competitions including the Siemens competition.
The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt has received support from a National Institutes of Health NCRR Science Education Partnership Award, Metro Nashville Public Schools and other donors.
PROGRAM CONTACT:
Angela Eeds (615) 322-7132