Siblings advance in Siemens Competition

Siblings Maya and Arjun Guru spent their summer working and learning in a laboratory at UAB. With the research they did on bladder cancer, they were the only students in the state to move onto the regional level of the 2015 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

The Vestavia Hills residents and students at The Altamont School were selected from 466 semifinalists and were in a pool of 97 regional finalists. Only one group was selected from the region for the National Finals, and Maya and Arjun did not advance to the next round.

With their study, they worked with Dr. Christopher Wiley, an associate professor of radiation oncology at UAB, nearly every day this summer for about four hours a day. 

Siemens Foundation CEO David Etzwiler said students in the regional competition were recognized for their work and the strength of their ideas.

“Today’s regional finalists represent an outstanding group of students whose remarkable projects not only demonstrate a very advanced aptitude in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math], but represent ideas that address some of today’s most challenging issues,” Etzwiler said.

Arjun said his desire to participate from the Siemens Competition came from an interest in science fairs and research.

“I’ve enjoyed science fairs for a long time,” Arjun, a junior at Altamont, said. “It’s my favorite subject, and it’s not really because I necessarily wanted to compete in this specific science fair, it’s just that I really enjoy them and this is a really well-known science fair. It’s definitely a worthwhile opportunity to participate in.”

Maya, a ninth grader at Altamont, said she enjoyed working in the lab and participating in Wiley’s research helped her narrow down potential career paths.

“Before the project, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do yet,” Maya said. “I just kind of explored a new field in doing this project, and I also realized when I did it that I really enjoyed the data analysis part of it.”

Maya is now planning to take AP Statistics at Altamont to learn more about data analysis and help determine her long-term goals. Arjun said he is considering a career in engineering, but the competition and research with Wiley has helped him hone more than just science-based skills.

“It’s definitely helped the value of experimenting in order to learn more, and it’s kind of enhanced my creative thinking in a way,” Arjun said. “Also, writing the paper was a valuable experience because it’s really important to be able to communicate your ideas.”

At the regional level, Maya and Arjun were interviewed by a panel of judges at the University of Texas at Austin in mid-November, where they discussed their study and answered questions.

“We’re going back over the paper, just making sure we’ll be able to give the best answers possible to the judges from UT Austin,” Arjun said in regard to preparation for the regional competition.

Their focus was on kinase activity related to bladder cancer. This was different than other studies, which tend to focus on gene mutations, Arjun said. Protein kinase is an enzyme that can modify other proteins.

“We did that because we believe that the activity is a more essential determinate of tumor growth, as opposed to the mere quantity of the genes or proteins,” Arjun said.

The study found the kinases with the most activity are in a family that is already targeted in drugs used to treat other kinds of cancer, Arjun said, and he said this information is a step in the right direction for research. Their study only focused on 24 patients, however, and the research should be replicated by a larger study.

At the Altamont School, Maya and Arjun remain involved in activities outside the classroom. Margaret Whiteside, marketing and communications director for Altamont, said both are well-rounded students.

Both students play tennis at the school, and Maya said photography is an important extracurricular to her. Arjun also runs cross country and participates on the math team and scholars bowl. 

“Altamont gives the chance to explore all different passions,” Whiteside said. “So they can do photography and tennis and do science. We’re very proud of them.”

Maya said she would encourage others to participate in the Siemens Competition because it allows students to apply classroom knowledge to real life.

“Using skills that you’ve learned in school and in the lab as well, and also using skills you’ve learning in the lab in science classes here — it’s a valuable experience,” she said.