Youth science fair winners recognized at annual meeting

Friday, November 01, 2013 12:31 PM

Two Colorado State Science Fair winners were honored with cash prizes and certificates in recognition of their achievements before the House of Delegates on Sunday, Sept. 22. Each year the CMS Education Foundation presents the Colorado Medical Society Award for Excellence in the Health and Behavioral Sciences to one student from the junior high division of the science fair and one student from the senior high division. CMS invites the students and their families to the annual meeting to display their projects and receive their awards.

Junior division winner Ellie Mackintosh was honored for her project “Simply Mouthwatering – Development of a Mouthwash to Increase Saliva.” Her inspiration for the product came from her father, who was diagnosed with head-and-neck cancer when she was a child. He underwent lifesaving treatment but the radiation damaged his salivary glands and left him with perpetual dry mouth. She consulted with dentists and physicians on which sour flavors would best stimulate saliva production and combined these to develop her mouthwash and gel.

“I’m so honored to be able to have the opportunity [to attend the meeting],” Mackintosh told 9News, the Denver NBC affiliate, in an Aug. 23 interview. “I’m excited to talk with them about their medical experiences and see what suggestions they have for my mouthwash.”

Senior division winner Jenna Hartley was honored for her project “Pseudomonas a. Infections in the CF lung: Inhibition of Bio-encapsulated Pathogens – Effects of Herbal Extracts Compared to Tetracycline on Pseudomonas Biofilm Formation in Presence and Absence of Mucus Analogue.”

Hartley was the 2012 junior division winner, honored for her in vitro model of Pseudomonas biofilm that tested antimicrobial effects of several agents. She discovered a flaw in her 2012 project, suspecting that the most effective agent last year was due to its ethanol content. That led her to this year’s project, for which she tested her hypothesis, found it true and tested antimicrobial effects of several aqueous agents. She also strived to more closely mimic the lung environment of her test system with the addition of a viscous agent.

CMS Past President Brent Keeler, MD, presented the awards. “These two young women, one a previous winner in the junior division, represent the future in scientific inquiry,” he said. “We celebrate with them and their families.”

“Scientific inquiry is a life-long process. The scientific mindset begins at an early age. Recognizing the scientific achievements of our young people is the underpinning of their motivation as scientists in the future,” Keeler said.

Colorado Medical Society member Janet Seeley, MD, PhD, served as the official CMS judge at the 2013 fair. She said it’s important to support youth in sciences because there is a short supply of evidence-based studies that are well designed and free of bias. “Part of the idea behind encouraging young people to go into science, especially medically inspired science, is because we need better studies and more studies about medical issues.”

Seeley said there were many excellent projects at this year’s fair and she encouraged other CMS members to come to the annual Colorado State Science Fair and volunteer as a judge to be inspired and encouraged by the questions the students have and how they go about finding their conclusions.