Marie Badiola ’20 – Ingenuity student since 9th grade
Middle School: Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle
Research Area: Medicine and Health
Research Topic: Detecting Tr-DNA: The Effects of Acidity on Transrenal-DNA detection
Q: What’s fun or unique about you outside of your research?
A: “I was the only person who applied to Ingenuity from my middle school. I didn’t take Algebra I in middle school, so I taught myself and did a boot camp over the summer so I could get in.”
Q: When did your interest in STEM begin?
A: “In middle school, but I was always attentive in math and science. I always thought they were interesting.”
Q: What’s your topic of research, and why did you choose it?
A: “Medicine and health. Almost everyone in my family is in the medical field. I’m hoping to find what specific thing I want to do in this field in college.”
Q: Where did you do your research?
A: “At the Bloomberg School of Public Health with Dr. Clive Shiff. He works with neglected tropical parasites, like schistosomiasis. It’s important to research them because they are still relevant in some places.”
Q: What was the best thing about going off-campus to do research?
A: “The lab experience. I was at the lab a lot. I even went over weekends and during the July 4th holiday to get results. I think my lab work will benefit me. Not many high school students have this opportunity.”
Q: What was the hardest part of your research? Any surprises along the way?
A: “The hardest part was time management. And my project definitely evolved along the way. With my data collection, I got a lot of contamination – it was frustrating at first, but I learned a lot from it.”
