Doris Chen
NEW JERSEY
Doris Chen, 17, of Tenafly, submitted an Intel Science Talent Search project
in medicine and health that identified how a novel mitochondrial enzyme, MHBD,
is a key factor for neuron survival in patients with neurodegenerative diseases
such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Her research identified a connection between
decreased enzymatic activity and exaggerated neuronal death relative to both PD
and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Doris, whose research began after her grandfather
was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, hopes her findings will contribute to
new methods for diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. She is
co-author of a paper on her research that was published in Nature Medicine.
First in her class of 272 at Tenafly High School, Doris is active on the debate
team and participates in the Model UN club. In her spare time she also enjoys
swimming, drawing, playing violin and viola, and participates in a chamber music
club that organized a benefit concert for children in Cambodia. The daughter of
John Xi Chen and Shirley Shidu Yan, she hopes to pursue a career as a surgeon at
Harvard or Yale.
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