Congratulations to the selected participants for the first year of SPROUT!
Read more about who they are and what they are doing research in.
Geonni Gee
Geonni is a junior at SLA Center City. Some of her interests include reading and skateboarding, which is the newest hobby she’s acquired. One thing she dislikes, though, is writing. Not because it isn’t fun, but because it is one of her biggest academic insecurities.
Geonni is working with Dr. Martha Constantinou, a Physics Researcher at Temple, concentrating on theoretical & computational nuclear physics. She is optimistic that this research will help her gain the confidence that she needs in order to accomplish her goal of becoming an engineer! Geonni is very excited for what is in store this summer!
Kera McCarthy
Kera McCarthy is a High School Junior at J.R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration school. She is passionate about medicine, language, baking, and how she can bring joy to others through them. After high school, Kera hopes to pursue a career in medicine and is currently interested in Cardiothoracic Surgery. She is a logophile, bubble tea enthusiast, and advocate for diversifying school curriculums. In her spare time, Kera loves reading, playing instruments, spending time by the water, and watching Grey’s Anatomy on repeat.
Kera will be researching anticancer compounds in Dr. Valentine’s lab, a professor of Chemistry at Temple University. Her research project is titled Metals in Medicine: Titanium Anticancer Compounds. She is looking forward to the experiences SPROUT brings to this summer!
Samar Oubarri
Samar Oubarri, a student at Central High School, is working under Dr. Kulathinal on the neurogenomics of incipient speciation in Drosophila. In her free time, she loves to draw and watch old TV shows! Her research interests include anything in medicine, really. Medicine is interesting to her as it is such a dynamic field, and in the future she would like to become a neurosurgeon.
Isaiah Weekes
Isaiah Weekes from Masterman High School is an aspiring engineer, economist, bassist and researcher. He’s interested in the problem solving, data interpretation and executive skills provided by research and the detail steps involved. This summer for SPROUT, Isaiah will be working with Dr. Bourget in his lab, ‘Porous Materials for Capture, Detection and Destruction of Chemical Warfare Agents’.
Maria Awadalla
Maria is a junior at GAMP high school. She is interested in going into a pre-med track out of high school. Maria is very passionate about healthcare and making sure everyone is able to receive it. She is interested in research because it is a fun and interesting way to find answers to the many questions she has and gain knowledge and experience. Some of Maria’s hobbies include singing, playing clarinet, and running cross country.
She will be working with Dr. Antonia Chroni on phylogenetic inference of circulating tumor cells by using clinical data. She is glad to be a part of SPROUT and looks forward to researching and growing her knowledge with her fellow scholars!
Kylee Mitchell
Kylee Mitchell is a rising senior at SLA Beeber. She is working with Dr. Cordes on predicting deep-sea coral distribution for effective management. She will be working on gathering information and synthesizing it to understand the oceanography, geology, biology, and ecology of the regions the lab studies. In the future, Kylee sees herself becoming a math teacher