Thinking Like a Scientist at Age 15

July 2010

Rising sophomore Alexis Kennedy never liked the taste of broccoli, and that distaste drove her to spend this summer and much of last year learning the ins and outs of the superfood—and its potential to treat cancer. “I never really liked broccoli, especially raw broccoli,” Alexis explains. “When I first read about its antibiotic properties, I knew I had to learn more.”

Alexis’ urge to learn more and ask questions is a big part of her personality. “My mom always said, ‘You can ask 5,000 questions at a single red light,’” Alexis shares. “And I always told her that asking questions is how I learn. Someone can teach me something a hundred times, but if I don’t get a chance to think about it and ask my own questions, I don’t get it.”

A perfect temperament for a scientist, Alexis’ inquisitive nature, combined with her determination and hard work, led to her 1st-place victory in the biology category of the Morgan State University Science Fair—and an all-expense-paid trip to the Intel International Engineering and Science Fair (Intel IESF) in San Jose, California. At the Intel IESF, her broccoli research won her a week-long spot as a paid intern at the Walter Reed National Institute of Research in Silver Spring, MD.  

Recently back from Walter Reed, Alexis is fast at work in the lab of her high school, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. She’s one of about 20 students participating in the Young Scientists in Training program run by Johns Hopkins Hospital. Meeting every Saturday during the school year and every week day from July 19 to the end of summer, the program puts students at the forefront of science through interactions with Johns Hopkins scientists and hands-on experiences in their labs; the program also helps students develop their own research projects and write grants to apply for funding.

With one lab experience after another, Alexis’ summer doesn’t look like that of a typical teenager. But that’s how she likes it. In many ways, she says, it’s given her a chance to come into her own. “I was always more of a quiet child and not the kind of person who interacts with a lot of other kids,” she explains. “I’ve made so many friends at these events—I feel like I’m in the right place, kind of like I’ve come home.”

“A lot of my friends are interested in boys, cell phones, their clothes—me, I’m interested in science, and I’m so glad I got in to Dunbar and have all of these great experiences,” she continues. 

In the lab at Dunbar, Alexis hopes to write a grant proposal to Johns Hopkins to continue her broccoli research. “I learned from my work last year that sulforaphane, the antibiotic in broccoli, isn’t strong enough and won’t last long enough to get rid of cancer,” she says. “Johns Hopkins will give us fish and mice samples, so my idea is to grow tumors in the stomachs of mice and inject them with antibiotics from several natural sources, maybe broccoli, garlic and onion.”  

At home in Cherry Hill with her mother and grandmother, Alexis practices the trombone (she’s in the Dunbar band), reads about topics relating to her research and spends her downtime watching the cartoon network—“I’m a kid at heart,” she says. She can also get caught up for hours watching shows about pregnancy and childbirth on Discovery Channel. She explains: “I used to want to deliver children when I grow up, but then I said, ‘Why would I want to do that when I could help children who are sick or injured?’”

With plans to become a microbiologist or bioengineer, Alexis wants to focus her career on medicine or equipment that improves the quality of life of children. One idea in the making, she says, is a “smart hand” for the growing number of children with carpal tunnel syndrome. The device would prevent anything from touching the median nerve on the palm-side of the hand, which triggers pain in people with the syndrome.

Though Alexis takes pride in her accomplishments—and hopes to receive a full-ride to college—she credits her mentor and science teacher, Mamie Green, with her success. “Without her, these experiences wouldn’t have happened,” Alexis says. “She bought me the supplies to get started and has been with me every step of the way. She’s like a second mother.”

According to Ms. Green, who has taught science for 36 years and heads the science department at Dunbar, Alexis’ accomplishments are her own. “It’s highly exciting and unusual for a 9th grader to go that far, winning 1st place at the Morgan fair and then winning an award on the international level,” says Ms. Green. “In all of these experiences, she has to talk to judges, her peers and other people about strategies, instrumentation, future research and more. She sounds like a real scientist, and she does it on her own.”   

-- Emily Gaines Buchler