M.C. Perry student earns second place at national Junior Science Humanities Symposium

After placing second in the Department of Defense Education Activity – Pacific Region’s Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS), M.C. Perry High School junior McKenzie Mitchell went on to earn second place at the national competition in April.

According to its website, JSHS is a Department of Defense-sponsored event administered by the National Science Teaching Association. The program encourages high school students to conduct original research in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and recognizes students for outstanding achievement.

“My elementary years of science fairs and bug collections built the foundation for my passion for science and research that was expanded upon especially my sophomore year when I took AP Biology,” Mitchell said. “I am fascinated by how deeply we are becoming able to understand human processes, and how past research has transformed medicine and our knowledge of the human body. There are great discoveries to come, and I want to be involved.”

For Mitchell’s JSHS project, she studied depression in flies.

(LCDR Moody speaks with DoDEA Pacific students at the national JSHS event. LCDR Moody was a guest speaker at this year’s event and is an Edgren Middle High School and JSHS alumna.)

“Depression can be studied in flies if they are exposed to uncontrollable vibration stress, in response to which flies’ brains and behaviors parallel depression,” she explained. “However, this has only been researched in male flies, so I investigated the differential impact of this procedure on female flies compared to males in terms of their walking activity and survivorship.”

As a result of her research, Mitchell learned female files were less affected than male flied by uncontrollable vibration stress.

“This initial finding is important because it demonstrates the continued need for research in this field, because there is a large gender-based disparity in diagnosis, treatment efficacy, and depression severity, and if gender differences are explored then treatments and diagnostic criteria may become more effective,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell hopes to one day have a career as a STEM researcher, with interests in molecular biology and genetics. She earned a $1,500 scholarship at the Pacific Region JSHS competition and a $8,000 scholarship for her second-place finish at the national level.

“I worked the absolute hardest I could, but I had no expectation of placing at all in such a tough and prestigious competition,” she said. “Hard work isn’t always going to receive recognition, so I feel very fortunate to have my work validated with this reward.”

LCDR Moody speaks with DoDEA Pacific students at the national JSHS event. LCDR Moody was a guest speaker at this year’s event and is an Edgren Middle High School and JSHS alumna.