{"id":29686,"date":"2024-08-14T11:46:11","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T15:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?p=29686"},"modified":"2024-08-14T11:46:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T15:46:11","slug":"talented-high-schoolers-excel-while-they-explore-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/talented-high-schoolers-excel-while-they-explore-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Talented high schoolers excel while they explore the brain"},"content":{"rendered":"
During the pandemic, when many classes delivered online could barely hold students\u2019 attention, Presley Simelus became captivated by the subject of biology thanks to their boundless curiosity and their uncommonly engaging teacher at Prospect Hill Academy Charter School in Cambridge. Meanwhile for Eli Hanechak, the science bug must have bit her very early. She\u2019s wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember and in fifth grade built a model of a space station the size of a car out of duct tape, cardboard and broomsticks.<\/p>\n
Not every teenager is expected to want to spend their summer breaks exploring science at a bench in an MIT lab, but each year students like Simelus and Hanechak, who have a distinct passion for research, can bring that to The Picower Institute and other research entities around MIT. Over six years of operation, pre-college outreach programs administered by\u00a0Mandana Sassanfar<\/a>,\u00a0Director of Diversity and Outreach,\u00a0have placed seven exceptional pre-college students, often from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds, with research groups in The Picower Institute. Despite their relative lack of experience compared to the technicians, graduate students, postdocs and professors around them, the students typically thrive.<\/p>\n \u201cEli has been a wonderful addition to our lab for the summer,\u201d said Kendyll Burnell, the graduate student in the lab of Professor\u00a0Elly Nedivi<\/a>\u00a0who has been working closely with Hanechak. \u201cShe is a hard worker, has caught on to techniques quickly, and is constantly asking excellent questions about science and doing research.\u201d<\/p>\n Simelus, too, has been not only learning but also contributing, said their summer host, Yire Jeong, a postdoc in the lab of Associate Professor\u00a0Gloria Choi<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPresley has been amazing in our lab, and I was impressed by Presley’s eagerness to learn so much about neuroscience,\u201d Jeong said. \u201cEven when facing technical difficulties, Presley diligently worked to overcome them and achieved meaningful results.\u201d<\/p>\n\u2018Dive into it\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n