GiS Spotlight: Junior Scientist Ly Na Nguyen
The Junior Scientist Award recognizes the top five outstanding proposals by middle school teams. Ly Na Nguyen is a recent immigrant from Vietnam and attends Liberty Bell Middle School in Johnson City, Tennessee. She learned about Genes in Space from social media and decided to apply in order to learn more about DNA.
Ly Na was recently featured in the Vietnamese newspaper, Tuoi Tre News. Read the feature here and enjoy some of Ly Na's insights from her Genes in Space experience below.
Briefly explain your experiment:
My topic focuses on the impacts of microgravity environment on the composition of Cerebrospinal Fluid and the DNA of the brain.
Why did you choose to participate in Genes in Space?
This is a good chance for me to know more about what I passionate about, science, in this case is DNA. I learned a lot just by participated in the contest. One of the most remarkable knowledge I gained over the course of the competition is how to look at certain concepts in a deeper level. And yes, all because of the chance I got to be part of Genes in Space contest.
How did you choose your topic?
In the process of approaching my topic, I asked myself many questions regarding of what I had already known, interested in, and passionate about. It did not take me very long when I finally decided that my topic would be neuroscience-related. After that, I started researching online, but not yet had I formed a question or sure about my topic. Only when I knew a little more about the brain did I form a question. Combined with some of the knowledge I learned at the beginning of the school year about adaptation, I eventually chose Cerebrospinal Fluid and adaptation as my main points.
What did you gain by participating in Genes in Space?
By participating in Genes in Space, I gained more information about human’s brain. To me, the brain has always been the most impressive structure to learn more about. Furthermore, I now know a little more about space and begin to feel a sense of interest in it, which I had never did previously. I entered with a fixed mindset about the universe, but ended in the beautiful growth one.
Do you have any advice for future Genes in Space contestants?
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” - Marie Curie
To me, it was quite overwhelmed as I began my proposal. Questions constantly popped up from nowhere, and I felt strange about my experiment. But as the problems uncoiled itself, it was like a new world just opened up in front of me. Still, there are so many questions I need to answer about my topic, along with my experiment. From my little experiences, it would be best if you spend some time each day to concentrate and think about your proposal, break it down to small pieces so that you can easily absorb the information, don’t overwhelm yourself. But most of all, enjoy the process, because at the end it is going to be the thing that would last.
Congratulations to Ly Na from the Genes in Space team!
