Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts senior Victoria Hwang has been recognized as a 2020 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar.
Hwang of Maumelle was one of 300 national scholars and the only one from Arkansas recognized in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. It is sponsored by the Society for Science and the Public. The scholars were selected from 1,993 applications received from 659 high schools in 49 states; Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; Guam; and eight countries.
Hwang’s research focused on inhibiting production of a specific protein to study its effect on the life cycle of cancer cells in a glioblastoma, one of the most malevolent forms of brain cancer. Hwang’s research tested if prohibiting the protein production would send the cancer cells into cell death and kill the tumor. While a good percentage of cancer cells did reach cell death, it was not enough to completely kill the tumor.
“It gave some structure on how to approach this idea,” Hwang said, looking at the positives that came from her study. “It’s something I’d like to continue researching in college if I have the opportunity. I have a better understanding of where I should start this process and what more I should look into,” she said.
To conduct high-level research such as this required access to a medical research lab. During the fall semester of her junior year, she read through the papers and studies of Dr. Robert Eoff, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. His work focuses on several similar topics, including deepening “the understanding of how DNA damage intolerance impacts genome stability, patient response to treatment and tumor recurrence in certain cancers,” according to his bio page on the UAMS website.
Hwang spent her spring break in Spring 2019 visiting Eoff’s lab, getting a feel of how the lab worked. She followed that by working in the lab every day during the summer. The first part of the summer was used to learn the process and procedures of the lab. She began focusing on her own research the second half of the summer.
Dr. Patryjcja Krakowiak, a biology instructor at ASMSA and Hwang’s project adviser, helped gain access to Eoff’s lab. Krakowiak said, “Victoria was an absolutely perfect candidate for partnering with UAMS because she is one of the most responsible and devoted students I have ever had. Once she decides to do something, nothing seems to be able to stop her.”
Krakowiak added that Hwang was a great representative of ASMSA, never shying away from extremely hard work and doing more than was necessary each day.
“She is a critical thinker and thrives when presented with challenges, which are common in scientific research. By her exemplary behavior, she has paved the way for other ASMSA students to join laboratories at UAMS,” Krakowiak said.
Hwang said she was working on a joint project with another student when Krakowiak first suggested she develop an independent project to enter into the Regeneron Science Talent Search. Hwang was hesitant at first.
“I wasn’t confident that it would be able to compete. There were so many impressive projects nationally. Then I read Mary Jia’s story from last year,” Hwang said.
Jia, a member of the Class of 2019 from Stuttgart, also was named a Regeneron Scholar for her research of blast disease resistance of rice. Jia’s story inspired Hwang to take on the challenge of an individual project.
“By coming to ASMSA, you have an opportunity to do something that not every student in the state gets. I decided that if I had the opportunity to do so and had everything I needed to qualify, nothing could go wrong, even if I didn’t make it,” she said.
Krakowiak said it’s that spirit that made her decide to recommend Hwang enter the contest.
“Victoria worked harder than any student I have ever had on her project by not only spending most of her spring break and after-school hours but also all of her summer at the UAMS lab. The topic she studied of understanding how cancer cells behave under various circumstances is also extremely exciting and crucial in our fight to eradicate it,” Krakowiak said.
As a Regeneron Scholar, Hwang earned a $2,000 award for herself and an additional $2,000 award for ASMSA. The Society for Science and the Public will name 40 finalists on Jan. 22 to compete for more than $1.8 million in additional awards, including the top award of $250,000. Finalists receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., from March 5-11, where they will compete for the awards.
“The next couple of weeks I’ll just cross my fingers and hope to move on to finalist,” Hwang said. “I think it’s already impressive to get to this point. If I don’t make it, I’m tremendously grateful and happy for how far I’ve made it so far.”