Shawnee Mission Students Shine at Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Finalists at the JSHS sympsium
Shawnee Mission School District

Shawnee Mission students demonstrated scientific strength at this year’s 2019 Kansas-Nebraska-Oklahoma Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

A Shawnee Mission student earned first-place and five of the eight finalists at the regional symposium were Shawnee Mission students. A Shawnee Mission educator was also recognized for educational excellence in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). While thousands of students enter their research in regional symposiums, only 230 high school students qualify for the national symposium.

Peyton Panovich, a Shawnee Mission West senior and Biotechnology student, earned first-place recognition, a $2,000 scholarship, and qualified to present research at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, which wil­l be held later this month in New Mexico. Panovich presented research on “The effect of Cucurbitacin B and I on Colon Cancer Cell Proliferation.” Her teacher is Brenda Bott, Biotechnology Signature Program teacher.

Elizabeth Falkner, a Shawnee Mission East junior and Biotechnology student, was selected to present a research poster at the national symposium, with the opportunity to compete for scholarships. She presented research titled “Targeting Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells with Novel Compound TCS2210. Her teacher is Brenda Bott.

Stuti Dalal, a Shawnee Mission East senior, was also named a finalist and was invited to the national symposium as a  Presidential Scholar to moderate presentations and present her research. Her research relates to the role of iron and the visual symptoms experienced by those with Alzheimer’s Disease. Her teacher is Miles Martin, Shawnee Mission East science teacher.

In addition to Panovich and Falkner, the following Shawnee Mission Biotechnology students also qualified for the final rounds of the symposium:

Juan Gomez, a Shawnee Mission Northwest junior, presented research on “The effect of compounds JG-1 and JG-2 on proliferation of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma HN5.”

Amy Quang, a Shawnee Mission West senior, presented research on the “Loss of O-GlcNAc Transferase Alters Mitochondrial Function in SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells.”

Martin was presented with The Teacher Award to honor educational excellence in STEM. The honor recognizes an active JSHS participant in mentoring and encouraging student participation and research and has had a student recognized at JSHS.

Finalists at the JSHS sympsium
Shawnee Mission student winning first place at the symposium.
A Shawnee Mission student presents at JSHS.
A Shawnee Mission student presents research at JSHS.
Miles Martin accepts an award at the JSHS.
Shawnee Mission students celebrate JSHS success.