Above is a picture of me and my comrades from the SPARK program, this program is competitive, but gaining new friends is pretty cool.

I was granted the opportunity to conduct an experiment based on “Identifying Genetic Associations with Alzheimer’s Disease at the APOE Locus in a Hispanic Population” (title of my science experiment). Out of many other teenagers, grades 10 – 12, I was one of the students chosen for the SPARK program within Jacksonville, Mayo Clinic.

SPARK (Science Program for the Advancement of Research Knowledge) was made for teenagers in high schools in Duval County. This program allowed me to find my passion for science through numerous hours of studying, conducting experiments repeatedly, and analyzing all of my data through tests such exact Fisher’s tests, PLINK association tests and Haploview. These computer programs are usually used for many fields within neuroscience, one of the hardest paths to take on, yet worth the energy.

The amount of knowledge I have learned within 5 months is astounding. This knowledge will continue to be built on as I continue the program until this upcoming Spring – Summer. By then, I will have a poster to present at the local science fair and hope that I can advance to state and ultimately the national science fair. Until then, I will keep this blog updated about my progress.