2010 DNA Day Essay Contest Winners

Congratulations to the 2010 winners and thank you all for participating. Happy DNA Day!

This year we received nearly 600 essays, almost double that of last year. Essays were submitted from 44 states in the U.S., Canada, Italy, and Bangladesh. The judges enjoyed reading the essays, and it is always interesting to see what the younger generation thinks about genetics.

2010 Questions

 

Question 1

Scientists can now determine the complete DNA sequences of organisms, including humans. Now that this milestone has been reached, is there a reason to continue learning about Mendel, alleles, and inheritance patterns? Explain your answer.

2010 Question 1 Winners

1st Place: Taylor Medwig
Teacher: Maria Trinkle
School: Smithtown High School East
Location: St. James, NY

2nd Place: Patreece Suen
Teacher: Richard Rosenbaum
School: Tulatin High School/Partnership for Scientific Inquiry at Oregon Health and Science U
Location: Portland, OR

3rd Place: Anthony Arena
Teacher: Todd Crane
School: Bergen County Academies
Location: Hackensack, NJ

Honorable Mentions

Regina Cai
Bergen County Academies
Hackensack, NJ
Teacher: Michael Liva
Riley Ennis
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Alexandria, VA
Teacher: Robin Taylor
Jiahui Zhang
Lincoln High School/Partnership for Scientific Inquiry at Oregon Health and Science U
Portland, OR
Teacher: Richard Rosenbaum
Nicole Clark
Centennial High School
Boise, ID
Teacher: Erin Tiderman
Tianhao He
Walter Johnson High School
Kensington, MD
Teacher: Joan McDermott
Ashley Semanskee
Edmonds-Woodway High
Edmonds, WA
Teacher: Kelly Hayes
Chen Zhuang
Hershey High School
Hershey, PA
Teacher: Erik Barber
Junyoung Choi
Bergen County Academies
Hackensack, NJ
Teacher: Judith Pinto

 

Question 2

Genetic testing allows geneticists to determine an individual’s DNA sequence, and research has identified a number of genes, such as HMGA2 and GDF5, that are associated with height. Will such associations allow scientists and physicians to predict a person’s final adult height from infancy? Explain your answer.

2010 Question 2 Winners

1st Place: Jyotishka Biswas
Teacher: Angela Eeds
School: School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt
Location: Nashville, TN

2nd Place: Won Ryan Lee 
Teacher: Todd Crane
School: Bergen County Academies
Location: Hackensack, NJ

3rd Place: William Kovacs
Teacher: Virginia Brown
School: Winston Churchill High School
Location: Potomac, MD

Honorable Mentions

Alexandra McHale
Smithtown High School East
St. James, NY
Teacher: Maria Trinkle
Katherine Benson
The University School
Johnson City, TN
Teacher: Richard Rollins
Akaash Gupta
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Alexandria, VA
Teacher: Andrea Cobb
Emily Shea
Smithtown High School East
St. James, NY
Teacher: Maria Trinkle
Victor Hu
Bergen County Academies
Hackensack, NJ
Teacher: Todd Crane
Anne Xia,
Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School
Vancouver, Canada
Teacher: Stella Horng
Matthew Kim
Bergen County Academies
Hackensack, NJ
Teacher: Judith Pinto
John Lewis
Kinkiad School
Houston, TX
Teacher: Sonia Clayton

 

About the Contest

The contest aims to challenge students to examine, question, and reflect on the important concepts of genetics. Essays are expected to contain substantive, well-reasoned arguments indicative of a depth of understanding of the concepts related to the essay questions.

Essays are read and scored by at least two independent judges. A 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner are chosen for each question.

Questions/Comments: Contact dnaday@ashg.org

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