New Science Opportunity at Bay!

Something new is afoot in science at Bay! Prompted by science-department teaching fellow Youssef Harraq, several students with an interest in the biological sciences have banded together to create the Youth Scholars Initiative, a group that educates members about areas of scientific research and application and learning about the process of scientific publishing. YSI started meeting in November 2023, with some sessions being devoted to analyzing articles in scientific journals and some to planning for guest speakers. 

Biomedical research is a particular area of interest for YSI members, and their first expert guest was Dr. Tarif Awad, Vice President for Scientific Affairs at Olink Proteomics. Dr. Awad spoke about his educational journey and building a career in the biotechnology industry. He discussed the choices he made in his education, such as whether to pursue a doctorate doing research or go to medical school and work in healthcare, and he explained the concepts of genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, as these are part of the work he does. Dr. Awad encouraged the students to explore areas of science that intersect with business, informatics, engineering, and other disciplines.  

“We hope to expand the horizons of our initiative far beyond what a club normally does,” say the group's founders Gracie ’25, Sam ’25, and Valerie ’25. Their goal is to find opportunities to participate in real-world research, much as our Astronomy Club has been able to. Bay physics teacher and Astro Club sponsor David Friedlander-Holm has cultivated professional connections that have allowed Bay students to use a research-level observatory and attend a national conference for astrophysicists. YSI members intend to pursue similar experiences, and we look forward to seeing their work develop. 

Photo: Dr. Tarif Awad (back row, left) and science teaching fellow Youssef Harraq (front row, left) with members of Bay's Youth Scholars Initiative.

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