65th Annual STS (2005-2006)
Finalists
Jennifer Ann Taylor

ALABAMA
Jennifer Ann Taylor, 18, of Florence, evaluated the antibiotic resistance of microorganisms in the Tennessee River for her Intel Science Talent Search environmental science project. Building on research she had begun as a sophomore, Jenny studied bacterial cultures taken from water samples for susceptibility to 11 common prescription antibiotics. She monitored expression of an important antibiotic resistance-encoding gene in a bacterial pathogen over the course of the bacterium's growth cycle and studied its response to the presence of environmental chemicals. She found many of the bacteria showed resistance to multiple antibiotics, leading her to conclude that water contamination with low-level antibiotics notably affects the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. First in her class of 247 at Florence High School, Jenny enjoys choir, history, scholars' bowl and Science Olympiad. Her entry in the state science fair earned a first place award in environmental science and a trip to World Expo in Aichi, Japan. In her spare time, she enjoys classical guitar and digital photography. The daughter of John and Pamela Taylor, Jenny plans to study biology and chemistry in college.