First Original Research Article Published in Youth STEM Matters
We’re thrilled that today marks the publication of our first ever Original Research article - “Utilizing HPLC to Analyze the Presence of Anticancerous Compounds Residing from the Isolate FM1005 (Xylaria sp.) Derived from Sinularia densa”, by Lela DeVine!
Sixteen year old Lela, who is a high school student at Waiakea High School and a member of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy lab at University of Hawaii at Hilo, focussed her project on identifying potentially anticancerous marine sources through marine-based pharmacology. The publication of her project in Youth STEM Matters follows her impressive achievements as a winner of the 2020 Hawaii District Science and Engineering Fair and a 2020 Finalist of the prestigious Regeneron ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair).
On the publication of her article, Lela said: "It feels amazing! I'm always looking for a new outlet to promote the importance of research and innovation, and Youth STEM 2030 did exactly that. I am beyond honoured and grateful to be the first ever Original Research article published by Youth STEM Matters, it truly means a lot to me. I had two main goals to accomplish before I graduate high school: make it to ISEF and get my research published. I can now happily say that I have accomplished both (although the former was somewhat cancelled due to COVID-19). I cannot express how thankful I am for the team and everyone who has helped me reach where I am today."
Lela has been doing STEM based projects and participating in science fairs for several years, but the inspiration behind her published project started with SCUBA diving. Lela said: “SCUBA diving had opened my eyes to the diversity of the reefs here in Hawaii. I never really realized how much potential there was down there until I started to actually explore. I slowly culminated my research and shifted my focuses year by year to align with my career goals, finding a way to link the marine environment to the medical field."
Although Lela initially wasn’t sure what to expect from the publishing process, and admits to feeling out of her comfort zone when it came to presenting her work as a journal article, with our team of Reviewers on hand to help, this feeling didn’t last long:
“I am SO thankful for all of the amazing reviewers at Youth STEM 2030 - they helped me in taking my paper and making it the best it possibly could be through clarification, formatting, and having a voice. I think it made my research stand out, and got me very comfortable with the publication process.”
In common with every article published in Youth STEM Matters, Lela’s work had a strong link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and is a testament to the power of youth in solving the big challenges in our world:
“[My research] shows the importance of Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12) within the reef, and the significance that Life Below Water (SDG 14) has on creating medical innovations that promote Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3), and the underlying importance of taking Climate Action (SDG 13) to allow these innovations to effectively continue.”
Asked to summarise why her research is important (and why you should read it!), Lela said: "The interdisciplinary approach I took with this project has led towards some really important takeaways. Though my research is preliminary, I consider this work in identifying marine-based natural product sources to be one of the first steps in finding a safer alternative to chemotherapy. One of the main discoveries that I looked into was the significance behind soft corals and sponges showing antiproliferative activity against prostate and ovarian cancer cell lines. It turns out that the marine sources that prove to be the most important to us medically reside in habitats that are the most susceptible to climate change and ocean acidification.”
Have you done a STEM based project like Lela? Submit your project to be published in Youth STEM Matters!
