The Intel Science Talent Search is a prestigious competi- tion that recognizes high school seniors’ exceptional research in science. The application process includes a 20 page research report. Approximately 1,800 seniors com- pete nationally in this competition each year, and there are only 300 semifinalists. David Frank ’15 worked through the science research program and because of his develop- ment of a unique project on Alzheimer’s Disease, Frank has been chosen as a semifinalist. He conducted his work at the Burke Medical Research Institute in White Plains. His work was centered on studying the αketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC), an enzyme that decreases in patients with Alzheimer’s. A decrease in this KGDHC causes neurons to be more prone to to cellular and metabolic stress. Frank strived to find what changes in the cell’s signaling caused the cells to be more vulnerable to stress.
Frank’s study led him to finding what changes were occurring. “This study mimicked the metabolic changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease to see what is happening in the cells when KGDHC is diminished. I saw that as KGDHC was inhibited, PDHC translocated from the mitochondria to the nucleus which indicated cell signaling” stated Frank.
by Rebecca Epemolou and Zoe Frishberg
