RKYHS Students Make Molecular Biology a Priority

Over the past 14 years, more than 2,000 high school students and their teachers -- representing about 40 New Jersey high schools -- have participated in the Waksman Student Scholars Program (WSSP), a project that engages high school students with Rutgers University faculty members in genuine research in molecular biology.

Now, we are happy to announce that Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School has been accepted to the 2011 WSSP program for students!

We want to wish a warm congratulations to Eliana B. and Jonathan C., who both will be seniors in September, for being accepted to this prestigious program. Along with Dr. Ricketts, the RKYHS team will participate in a Summer Institute program from July 5 through July 22 and will continue their research during the 2011/12 school year.

The Student Research Group has been meeting on Mondays after school and during lunch on Fridays, as well as the Chug period on Tuesdays, and doing research on Zebra Fish.

According to the group's Research Update,

"Zebra fish are an excellent animal model for classroom learning and investigations as they can be bred, the development of the embryos can be viewed and studied and the effect of external agents on the development of the fry can be studied. For example, the drug Thalidomide, which has resulted in limb deformities in newborn humans, inhibits the development of fins in zebra fish. Techniques for the collection of fertilized eggs and maintenance of the embryo and larva stages of the zebra fish fry have now been established and we are now initiating experiments to investigate the influence of external agents on the development, physiology, and behavior of zebra fish."

We are excited to follow their research as it progresses, and we wish the RKYHS Team good luck as a part of WSSP!