Nashville student named finalist in prestigious national scientific competition

A Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools student from the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt’s senior class, also a student at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School, has been named as Tennessee’s only top 40 finalist in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search. This national competition recognizes and empowers the most promising young scientists in the United States who are creating the ideas and solutions that solve the nation’s most urgent challenges.

Lena Zewdu Feleke completed a project titled “Assessing the Effects of Transcriptional and Post-Transcriptional Regulatory Elements on SLC3A1 Transgene Expression for Type A Cystinuria Gene Therapy.” Her research was focused on examining and testing variations in a gene that could be used in new treatments for a certain type of chronic kidney disease. Feleke’s work was done in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Wilson, in Vanderbilt Medical Center’s Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. Feleke’s direct mentor was Jennifer Peek, an M.D.-Ph.D. student in Vanderbilt’s Medical Scientist Training Program who graduated herself from the SSMV in 2014. It was a wonderful full-circle moment for Peek to mentor a student after her career path was inspired by her own SSMV research laboratory experience years ago.

“Lena being the first SSMV student is so meaningful to me,” Peek said.

Feleke said, “Gaining this opportunity means so much to me, and I have realized the importance of asking the next question in a world full of unanswered questions and being passionate about your purpose and what you hope to bring to the world.”

Angela McShepard-Ray, Feleke’s executive principal, remarked, “When Lena walked through the doors of Martin Luther King, Jr. Academic Magnet High School as a seventh-grade student, we knew she had unlimited potential. Lena is an impressive student and young lady. I would not expect anything less from her. I cannot wait to see Lena’s impact on the world in science.”

Feleke and her high school have each received a $2,000 prize, and Feleke will receive a minimum of $25,000 as a finalist who is competing for one of the top prizes at a finalist event in Washington, D.C., this March.

Lena Zewdu Feleke working in the lab

Lena Zewdu Feleke with Dr. Matthew Wilson (left) and Jennifer Peek (right)

The SSMV is a joint venture between Vanderbilt University and MNPS and offers high school students an interdisciplinary, research-centered learning experience. SSMV students competing in this year’s competition are members of the class of 2025, the 15th cohort to graduate from the program.

Menton Deweese is the director of the SSMV and is especially proud of this year’s recognition. “The SSMV is grateful to work with so many great professors at Vanderbilt to provide authentic scientific research experiences for our students,” Deweese said.

“It is so exciting to see the great talent in Metro Nashville Public Schools recognized by the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition, Regeneron Science Talent Search,” Jennifer Berry, director of STEAM and science for MNPS, said. “The SSMV is a wonderful partner to MNPS, providing students with a unique interdisciplinary, research-centered learning opportunity. Partnerships matter so much in education, as they allow learning to extend beyond the four classroom walls. Experiences matter, too, and I am so proud our partnership allows for world-class experiences in which our students can receive national recognition.”

The Regeneron Science Talent Search, founded and produced by Society for Science, is a premiere pre-collegiate science competition that began in 1942. This year it received a record number of 2,471 entrants, the largest pool of applicants since 1967. SSMV congratulates Feleke on this accomplishment and wishes her good luck in the next round of competition!

The SSMV is currently accepting applications from rising high school freshmen until February 17, 2025. For more information about the program, please visit https://www.vanderbilt.edu/cseo-ssmv/.

The SSMV has received funding from Vanderbilt University, Metro Nashville Public Schools, the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health, and other generous donors.