She Blinded Them With Science

Name:  Anisha Garg

School:  The Emmaus High School senior is in the top 1 percent of her class of 689 students, with a GPA of 4.35.

Accomplishment:  Anisha won first place in the life sciences category in the Pennsylvania Junior Science and Humanities Symposium held at the Penn State Conference Center, March 20-23. She also was awarded first place overall, along with a $1500 scholarship.  She will represent Pennsylvania in the national competition to be held April 27 to May 1 in San Diego, Calif.

Key to Awesomeness:  Anisha’s research project was entitled “Quantifying the Effects of Missense tRNAs on Mutagenesis in Yeast.” It consisted of modifying yeast samples in such a way that the process of protein synthesis was altered.  She then studied the effect of the alterations. 

Her research for the project was done at the National Cancer Center, Frederick, Md., with Dr. Jeffrey Strathern, where she worked as a paid summer intern. She also did research with Robert Skibbens, a Lehigh University professor, and worked as an unpaid intern for two years.

Anisha enjoys playing the flute, piano and oboe, and was in the school’s orchestra until this past year. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Latin Club and Amnesty International Club. Anisha also volunteers her time at the Allentown Kumon Center, helping students in first through tenth grades with their math and reading. In her spare time, she likes to knit and cross-stitch. 

She has numerous accomplishments and awards in the area of science, along with commendations from former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, U.S. Congressman Charles Dent, Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania Senate. 

Following her graduation from Emmaus High School, she plans to attend college and work in the medical field.