Katharine Shao, a Detroit Country Day high school research student for Allen Liu’s lab was awarded first place in the Cellular and Molecular Biology category at the 60th Annual Science and Engineering Fair of Metro Detroit for her research project titled “The Effect of Mechanical Compression on Cancer Cell Proliferation.” Shao’s work was also recognized at the 23rd Michigan State Science Fair as the grand award winner in the Life Sciences category and she was named an Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2017 Finalist. She plans to attend the ISEF in May, which is presented by the Society for Science & the Public and is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Over 1,600 finalists are selected for the competition annually from hundreds of affiliated fairs across the United State and worldwide.
Shao is looking forward to the opportunity to attend ISEF where she’ll get the chance to meet hundreds of other young scientists from around the world as well as a number of Nobel laureates. “This will be a life-changing experience for me. I am very grateful to Dr. Liu for providing me with the opportunity to research in his lab as well as mentoring me,” said Shao. “He has given me great advice that helped me understand the scientific process. I would also like to thank Ph.D. student Kenneth Ho for helping me develop my skills in the lab by stimulating my curiosity and improving my understanding of science research.”
