Shawnee Mission School District Biotechnology Students Show Scientific Strength in the BioGENEius Challenge

After participating in an early March competition, Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) Biotechnology students earned four of the five finalists titles at the statewide BioGENEius Challenge.

Elizabeth Falkner, Shawnee Mission East senior and Biotechnology student, is the 2020 Kansas BioGENEius Challenge winner.

She is recognized for her research titled “Assessing Biofilm Formation on Poly (methyl methacrylate) Bone Cement”.

Shawnee Mission finalists virtually presented to KS BioGENEius judges in late April.  In addition to Falkner, these students shared the following projects:

·       Morghan Golloher, Shawnee Mission East junior and Biotechnology student, presented “Targeting Gene Expression of CCL2, IL-6, and IL-12 in Breast Cancer cells by CRISPR and shRNA”

·       Sophia Sun, Shawnee Mission East senior and Biotechnology student, presented “Novel strategies to downregulate B cell receptor signaling in mantle cell lymphoma

·       Kate Tickle, Biotechnology senior, presented “Identification of the Sarcocystis neurona parasite in opossum”

The BioGENEius Challenge is a premier poster competition for high school students recognizing students performing outstanding research in medical, agricultural, or industrial biotechnology.

Falkner has been invited to participate in the International Challenge.  The International BioGENEius Challenge represents the highest level of the competition. U.S. student finalist winners join winners from Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada and BioGENEius Challenge Germany to compete.  The BIO 2020 International Convention was due to be held in San Diego, CA. Due to COVID-19, it has been moved to a digital platform.