Dayton Regional STEM School Competes To Defend Their Title as #1 Cyber Patriot Team in Ohio

By: Marc Ayala

KETTERING, OH - On January 30th, the seven Dayton Regional STEM School (DRSS) Cyber Patriot teams will compete at DRSS to defend their title as #1 in Ohio. They will compete against 71 Ohio teams in the state-round competition, hoping to advance to regionals and win an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. for nationals. 
 

The 2015/2016 DRSS Cyber Patriots Team

Cyber Patriots is a national competition where middle schools and high schools students are tasked with the job of an IT professional, finding security vulnerabilities in computer systems and troubleshooting network problems in only six hours.
 
Beginning in August, students have spent at least 3 hours a week preparing for this competition. With the help of their head coach, Dr. Brian Kowal, and advisors Matthew Kowal, Jordan Slone, Mr. Collier, and 2 Air Force Institute of Technology students, they have learned about securing computer systems and creating networks. Dr. Kowal “expects the teams to do exceptionally well this year.”
 
The school would also like to thank the Dayton-Wright chapter of Armed Forces Communication & Electronics Association (AFCEA) for donating money for the seven teams' registration fees.

Alumna Profile - DRSS Graduate Fighting Cancer In Labs of Texas A&M

As a member of the very first graduating class of The Dayton Regional STEM School in 2013, Anna Marie Bowsher is putting the skills and qualities she learned at DRSS to use fighting cancer in the labs of Texas A&M University Commerce. Anna Marie is from Fairborn, OH. We caught up with her and asked her to discuss a bit about her work studying breast cancer cells, her future plans to attend medical school, and what it's like to work on publishing a paper in a peer-reviewed journal, which is her latest project.

Anna Marie Bowsher, Class of 2013, is currently studying breast cancer cells at Texas A&M University Commerce.

Q: When do you hope to graduate with your undergrad and what do you want to do afterwards?

I will be graduating in August of 2016. I just found out last week and I am super excited because that means I am graduating two semesters early! I will be starting my master's degree in biological sciences in September of 2016 at Texas A&M University Commerce. I am also applying to medical school in the coming cycle- applying for the incoming class of 2017.

Anna still has a little bit of time for fun in the laboratories!

Q: What's your favorite course currently?

My favorite course this semester is biochemistry. I feel accomplished in that class because concepts I understood on one level at the start of the semester are making sense on a higher level now - it's like working on a puzzle.

Q: What is your primary area of research?

I work in a cellular biology lab and am currently working with breast cancer cells. More specifically, I am investigating the role of epigenetic modifications on metastasis of breast cancer cells. 

Q: What are epigenetic modifications, exactly, and how are you studying them?

Epigenetic modifications are modifications to DNA which augment protein expression but aren't a result of changes in the nucleotide sequence of DNA; that is, (for example), adding acetyl groups to DNA associated proteins (histones) to cause DNA to dissociate resulting in an increase in protein transcription upstream from that modification. Changes in protein transcription have major implications in the cell. For example, when modifications increase transcription in an area of the DNA which codes for proteins that allow the cell to better resist anchorage dependent cell death they would increase the metastatic potential of the cell - if the cell is less likely to die if it detaches from its current location it is more likely to survive to travel to a new location and cause metastasis.

To study these changes, I grow breast cancer cells in the lab and treat them with various inhibitors and activators. I then asses their ability to migrate, invade, and produce specific proteins. I also asses changes to their chromatin (DNA plus DNA-associated proteins) via fluorescent microscopy (I stain DNA and look at it under the microscope) and western blotting (I extract the DNA associated proteins and separate them on a gel, then I identify the protein of interest using an antibody specific to that particular protein). 

Q: Wow, that's awesome! So what exactly is your paper about?

My paper is about Protein Kinase C mediated histone H3K27 tri-methylation and its augmentation of breast cancer metastasis. I am working my hardest to send my paper for publication by the end of January, but the review process takes several months so my best guess is that it will be published in the Summer.

Q: Can you describe the process of writing for a scientific journal?

Writing is the easy part [Anna says with a smile]. The hard part is collecting data. Once you have significant data, you just follow where it leads in the writing process. Basically, you collect your data, analyze it with statistical analysis software, and then you use the principles of cellular biology and biochemistry to describe what the data means. It is like a big puzzle.  
Q: Did your time at DRSS help you prepare for your college experience, current research, the journal-writing process, and/or your future career?
 
Yes, DRSS gave me confidence in my abilities as a student and that I could be a person who makes a difference in their career - those are the skills I turn to most often when things are really challenging. More specifically, DRSS made me a great problem solver and presenter. I never realized how integrated classes at DRSS would be an asset, but after learning so much more about biology and chemistry I realize how important it is to be able to connect the concepts learned in one area of study to another, and how having that skill makes everything in both fields so much easier to understand. I also think DRSS really prepared me for presentations - I have had to give multiple presentations and seminars about my research, not to mention class presentations, and I know one of the reasons I am comfortable and confident in those situations is DRSS. I would like to thank the teachers of DRSS for creating an environment where I could learn and make mistakes without feeling like I'd failed, and for having the foresight to make us practice those skills like problem solving, presenting, working as a team, and encouraging one another, which I didn't even know I would need, but now make me stand out from my peers.

Q: What specific classes, teachers, and/or DRSS experiences did you enjoy or remember the most?

When I was at DRSS my favorite classes were physics and biology. I actually really miss working on AutoCAD sometimes and I have always just loved biology. Ms. Cook Whitt made a huge impact on my life when I was at DRSS - and still does. She always made me feel like being anything but my best was taking the easy way out (if I wasn't challenging myself I wasn't getting all out of the experience that I could)- I think it is pretty rare that someone can inspire like that without ever making you feel inept or insecure. Ms. Whitt and I still keep in touch, and she continues to be a mentor and friend. Ms. Tash also really inspired and encouraged me. I am so thankful to have had such compassionate teachers. All in all, I loved being a student at DRSS. I had great friends, inspiring teachers, and an environment that gave me the skills I needed to be where I am today - working hard to make my dreams come true!

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

Just to thank all of my former teachers - Ms. Linda, Ms. Brown, Ms. Harris, Mr. Lydy, Ms. Tash, Ms. Cook, Ms. Reid, Mr. Polk, Ms. Chen, Ms. Durkee, Ms. Fisher, Molly Johnson, and Mr. Grieve. I wouldn't be here without their hard work and inspiration!  

DRSS Students in Regional Production of Mary Poppins produced by Muse Machine

 Come see your fellow Dayton Regional STEM School students as you've never seen them!

Spit spot, tidy up and look to the skies—there's a new nanny in town.

Muse Machine's magical new production of Walt Disney's MARY POPPINS comes to the Victoria Theatre January 14-17, 2016. Click here to purchase tickets now!

With just a few weeks to go before 150 young people from across the Miami Valley converge and the curtain rises, we have something to tide you over—a fantastic new trailer! Watch it, share with friends and family and reserve some tickets. Good luck will rub off when you do...

DRSS students Nicole Sword, Zach Vogt-Lowell, and Morelia Sanchez are in the cast and Carey Meredith is a production assistant. We are so proud to have this many students from the STEM School out of hundreds from across the region who auditioned and interviewed. They have put in months of rehearsals and now its almost time to show our support. See you at the Victoria!!!

DRSS students Nicole Sword, Zach Vogt-Lowell and Morelia Sanchez are in the cast and Carey Meredith is a production assistant.