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