By Heather Burkhart
The Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF) is known as the most competitive science fair in New York. The 2015 competition, accommodating over 420 high school students from Westchester and Putnam counties, showcased projects stemming from subjects such as biochemistry, microbiology, environmental science and engineering. Incredible scientific progress was made, but only 21 students received top awards. We got in touch with Stephanie Becker, one of the finalists who was selected to attend the Intel ISEF 2015 competition, based on her work with Neuropeptide-Y, for a Q&A. First off, could you tell me a little about your work with molecular and cell biology that you presented in the WESEF 2015 competition? The research project I presented at WESEF this year revolved around a protein-like molecule called Neuropeptide-Y (NPY) and its effects in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic relapsing condition mediated by an abnormal immune response. My study blocked NPY's Y1 and Y2 receptors using small-molecule antagonists in an IBD mouse model in order to determine if this attenuated IBD pathology and these pathological changes were associated with behavioral and biochemical changes. I revealed that blocking the Y1 receptor led to increased IBD pathology, while blocking the Y2 receptor led to decreased IBD pathology, and that these pathological changes were associated with biochemical changes. Combined, these results identified NPY Y2 receptor antagonism as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of IBD at a pathological and biochemical level.
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9/1/2015 3 Comments From Mechanical Engineer to TV Host: How Deanne Bell is Changing the Face of Women in Tech
By Heather Burkhart
One of the leading challenges among the STEM community is the subject of alluring the masses to the enthralling world of science. Deanne Bell, co-host of the television show “Make Me a Millionaire Inventor” and founder of Future Engineers has accepted that challenge with an unrivalled confidence and the capacity to back it up. With a background in mechanical engineering and public speaking, Deanne has what it takes to get students pumped up about building, and eager to get creating.
She was born Augustine Marie Cécile Mugnier and was born into a wealthy family who lived in Annecy in southern France. Like her mother, Cecile had an independent mindset and little patience for rote learning. After a private Catholic school proved untenable, they sent her to Paris to study neurology with Pierre Marie, and by age 25, she had completed her doctorate in neuroanatomy and earned her French medical license.
During her time in Paris, she gave birth to her first child, Claire, out of wedlock, and raised her infant daughter as a single mother while completing her medical degree. Shortly thereafter, she married a 29-year-old German hypnotist-turned-neurologist and moved to Germany with him. There she joined his lab and remained a key collaborator in his work for six decades. The Vogt lab produced several pioneering studies that established correlations between specific brain regions and psychiatric symptoms. They collaborated so frequently that science historians have had a difficult time sorting out who took the lead on which project. However, the Vogts' impact on neurology was undeniable. They were fierce proponents of the anatomical model of psychiatric disease etiology. The couple also had two daughters, Marthe and Marguerite, who went on to become well-respected scientists in their own right. Cecile Vogt continued to collaborate with her husband until his death in 1959. After that, she moved to Cambridge to be with her daughter Marthe in Cambridge, England. She died there in 1962. Citations: Enderson, Daniel Ole. “Who Named It: Cecile Vogt”. Whonamedit.com. Web. 22 Oct 2014. "Nomination Database - Physiology or Medicine". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 11 Oct 2014. Satzinger, Helga. Femininity and Science: The Brain Researcher Cécile Vogt (1875-1962). Translation of: Weiblichkeit und Wissenschaft. In: Bleker, Johanna (ed.): Der Eintritt der Frauen in die Gelehrtenrepublik. Husum, 1998, 75-93.
Neurologist
b. March 27, 1875 d. May 4, 1962 Total nominations in public data base: 13 (Always along with her husband and lab head Oskar Vogt) Nominated by: Robert Bárány (1922), Gustaf Bergmark (1922), Emil Holmgren (1922), Karl Kleist (1923 & 1929), Wilhelm Weygandt (1926), E Forster (1928), A Policard (1930), Franz Volhard (1950), P Vogel (1951), H Weber (1953), Th. Naegeli (1953), and Antonio Egas Moniz (1953) Achievements:
About: Cécile Vogt and her husband, Oskar, who rarely published independently of each other, were the world leaders in neural “cytoarchitecture” (literally, the architecture of cells). When they set out on their careers in neurobiology, Sigmund Freud was all the rage, but their focus on neurobiology and the arrangement of brain cells helped drive the shift away from psychoanalysis to neurobiology. 4/27/2015 0 Comments Dr. Caroline Defilippo
By Heather Burkhart
For some women, it may be risky business to decide between a fulfilling career and the raising of a family. If you’re like Dr. Caroline Defilippo, you have probably asked the universe, “Why do I have to choose just one?” As a practicing internist with two little girls at home, Dr. Defilippo is one of the many inspiring women who have overcome one of the most difficult challenges facing those who want to defy the typical stereotypes opposing them, all while enjoying the benefits of having both a family life and a career.
After receiving her graduate certificate in Environmental Studies and Public Health and serving as an ambassadorial scholar in Australia, Defilippo began working as a public health educator for Rockland County Department of Health, but not too long after was approached by her boss and was told that her talents would be well spent as a doctor. Defilippo responded that she “…was so not going to be a doctor; I was disenchanted by organic chemistry in particular.” However, a month into this position, which she thought was going to be her job, she took a step in another direction and enrolled in med school classes at night, something she refers to as “a leap of faith.” Several leaps of faith have guided her decisions since then, both educationally, professionally, and personally, and have helped her through a number of perhaps unexpected twists in life.
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