Janet Song
PENNSYLVANIA
Janet Song, 17, of Audubon, developed a novel method of isolating low
molecular weight (MW) DNA from urine as a first step toward developing a
non-invasive test for the early detection of cancer for her Intel Science Talent
Search project in medicine and health. Urine contains low MW DNA that comes from
the circulatory system, and therefore from possible tumor sites. In her study,
Janet developed and optimized a method using carboxylated magnetic beads (CMB)
to separate low MW DNA from high MW DNA, which is also found in urine. Her
CMB-urine method enhanced the detection of the cancer-related K-ras mutations.
The next step, she says, is to develop a panel of biomarkers for the detection
of cancers of interest. Janet co-authored an article on the research and is
named as co-inventor in a patent application. First in her class of 457 at
Methacton High School in Norristown, she writes poetry and fiction and plays
first violin in the school orchestra. An accomplished pianist, she has performed
at Carnegie Hall. The daughter of Wei Song and Ying-Hsiu Su, in 2007, Janet was
a presenter at a medical conference in Moscow, Russia. She hopes to attend
Harvard or MIT.
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