In an international science competition featuring competitors from countries around the world, McAllen ISD high school sophomore Claire Kim took third place.
Billed as the “world’s largest international STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) research competition for high school students,” the 75th annual Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science, happened May 10-16.
Kim was one of seven students to earn third spot in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, a category sponsored by Regeneron. All third-place winners received $1,200. Her entry was called AI Driven Drug Discovery: Designing Cancer Inhibiting Molecules With Genetic Algorithm.
Kim is in McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate Programme based at Lamar Academy. She qualified for the international competition by winning the Grand Championship at the Regional Science and Engineering Fair in February at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She also earned two medals for her project.
“My project is basically designing an algorithm that designs molecules that could potentially inhibit cancer proteins found in cancer cells,” Kim explained before her participation in the international event. “These proteins provide the cancer cells with nutrients that regulate vital processes. These inhibitors will go in and bind to these proteins and thus, render that protein unable to react with others.”
She began working on the project in October and finished it in February.
PHOTO CAPTION
Claire Kim, a student in McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate Programme based at Lamar Academy, stands next to her project after taking third place in her category at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair held in May in Columbus, Ohio.