FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (January 12, 2012)

CONTACT: Angela Eeds School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt ph 615-322-7132 fax 615-322-2285 Email Address: angela.eeds@vanderbilt.edu http://theschool.vanderbilt.edu

Three SSMV Students are Tennessee’s Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists Three members of the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt senior class have been named as Semifinalists in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search. Emily Alsentzer is a student at Hume-Fogg Magnet while Jasmine Kelly and Ben Gu are students at Martin Luther King Jr Magnet. All won $1,000 prizes and matching awards will be sent to their MNPS schools. Emily Alsentzer completed her project in Richard Peek’s laboratory (Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology), entitled "Identification of novel H. pylori adhesins responsible for binding the host cell receptor decay-accelerating factor (DAF)." Ben Gu completed his project in Eric Skaar’s laboratory (Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology), entitled “Human Hemoglobin Polymorphisms Affect Recognition by S. aureus Receptor IsdB.” Jasmine Kelly completed her project in Tiffiny Tung’s laboratory (Department of Anthropology), entitled “Reconstructing Climate Change and Food Production in the Ancient Peruvian Andes Using Stable Isotope Analysis.” Jasmine was also recently recognized as a Siemens Semifinalist for this research. The Intel Science Talent Search is a premiere pre-college science competition that received 1,839 applications this year, choosing only 300 as semifinalists. Emily, Ben, and Jasmine were the only applicants from Tennessee to be recognized. On January 25, 40 finalists will be invited to Washington, DC to compete for the top prize. We want to congratulate Emily, Ben, and Jasmine and wish them good luck in the next round of competition! The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) is a joint venture between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and offers high school students an interdisciplinary, research-centered learning experience. SSMV students competing in this year’s competition are members of the class of 2012. This class of students will be the second to graduate from the program. The SSMV has received funding from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, the Nashville Alliance for Public Education, the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health, and other generous donors. ###