Three members of the Class of 2020 have had research they conducted while students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts published in the Journal of Student Research High School Edition.
They are the first Arkansas students to have their research published in the journal, said Dr. Whitney Holden, a Life Science Specialist at ASMSA who served as their research advisor.
Ethan Talley of Conway, Alexx Weaver of Lonoke and Sophia McClain of Van Buren conducted their research as part of the Life Science Capstone course at ASMSA. Weaver and McClain worked as a team, studying a link between an individual’s susceptibility to influenza and their nasal microbiome. Talley’s research explored the applications of a compound that could combat harmful algal blooms in freshwater systems.
Holden served as the main research advisor for the students, working with them over three semesters to conduct their initial research. That led to her deciding to try to help them get their research published.
“These are some of the strongest projects I have ever mentored at ASMSA, and these students impressed me every week with their motivation and maturity,” Holden said. “I felt these students deserved recognition for all their hard work and creativity, particularly when they had earned the right to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair and then missed that opportunity when the competition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The students had earned the opportunity to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) through the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair in the spring of 2020. ISEF is the largest and most prestigious international undergraduate science and engineering fair. It annually brings students from around the world together to compete. The 2020 international competition was cancelled because of the pandemic.
The Journal of Student Research High School Edition is an academic, multidisciplinary and faculty-reviewed journal devoted to the rapid dissemination of current research published by high school students. Preparing their research for publication wasn’t a rapid process, however.
“Publishing this research required a great deal of extra work stretching out over a year,” Holden said. “Alexx and Ethan were updating their manuscripts during their first semester in college, and we all went back and forth through several additional drafts during the Christmas holidays to bring both manuscripts up to publication quality. Then we submitted in January and crossed our fingers for months waiting for a decision.”
Both Weaver and Talley said that it took many hours of work to get their research reports ready for publication while being unsure if they would even be published.
“The idea of being a published author almost felt too big, like it was something out of my wheelhouse,” Weaver said. “Dr. Holden encouraged me and really pushed me to this great achievement. Dr. Holden and I spent many hours revising and emailing back and forth in order to shape my paper into a beautiful article.”
Talley said he had already been thinking about the possibility of publishing his research.
“I already had a complete paper when we started thinking about publication, but it had to be the subject of endless reformatting and revision before I was really happy about actually publishing it. Dr. Holden helped enormously with that by picking out things that I might have otherwise missed,” he said.
To view Weaver and McClain’s research, visit https://asmsa.me/weavermcclainjournal21. To view Talley’s research, visit https://asmsa.me/talleyjournal21.
Weaver said it was an honor to be able to represent the state in such a unique way by being one of the first Arkansas students to be published in the journal.
“I have been a lifelong resident of a small town in central Arkansas and could never have imagined that I could be publicly recognized in this way. I hope that my publication can encourage other Arkansas students,” Weaver said.
“ASMSA was the gateway to this accomplishment. Without the wonderful and dedicated teachers, I would not have been able to publish this paper. I am forever thankful for the mentorship I received from Dr. (Patrycja) Krakowiak (a Life Science Specialist at ASMSA) and Dr. Holden, who truly pushed me to this accomplishment.”
Weaver is currently an undergraduate student and research assistant at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute located at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in pre-professional biology.
Talley is an honors fellow at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville where he is majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry, mathematics, computer science and data analytics.