In reading a paper on human tissue-engineering research for her seventh-grade science class last year, Samantha Marquez wondered why scientists weren't using living cells to create organs instead of nonliving particles.
"I pushed my dad, 'Come on, come on, we can totally do this. This is an awesome idea,'" Samantha recalled prodding her father, Manuel Marquez, a scientist from YNano LLC, a science research and development company in Midlothian. He also is an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Mechanical Engineering and at Arizona State University.
Manuel Marquez recalled reaching out to fellow scientists, including Antonio Garcia, a professor of bioengineering at Arizona State University.
"That's a super-clever idea," Manuel Marquez recalled Garcia saying. "Later on, he said that the implications of this concept is huge for bioengineering, for tissue engineering and for biofuels."
At the beginning of this year, Samantha Marquez was named co-inventor on two patent applications in tissue engineering filed by a research group at YNano, Harvard and Arizona State universities.
Samantha, an eighth-grader at Robious Middle School in Chesterfield County, is an example of why young people play an important role in science, Garcia said. Her idea will allow them to look at the research in a different way, he said.
Young students "don't have any established way of looking at the science world," he said. "They come up with lots of fresh ideas. The trick is to tap into that fresh creativity."
Using living cells allows for the creation of new three-dimensional tissues and organs, without the necessity of scaffolds, something conventional tissue-engineering research does not allow, Samantha said.
She is doing a five-month research internship under the supervision of Raj R. Rao, an assistant professor at VCU's School of Life Science Engineering. They're looking at creating a unique complex between an algae colony and a cluster of cells to prove that the oxygen produced by the algae will prolong the life of cells and tissues.
"To have a middle school student like Samantha do that is indeed rare, and my sincere belief is that it is never too early to get them [students] into our labs and show them what they are capable of," Rao said.
It's great for her daughter to implement her ideas in the lab under Rao's supervision at a recognized institution like VCU, said Carolina Marquez, also a scientist.
"It would be great for her to have internships if she continues her interest and passion in science," she said.
Samantha said she's leaning toward a science or math career. And she's excited about the research opportunity.
"I think there's going to be doors opening for me and opportunities for me to learn more and spend time with people who can teach me and help me and where we can share ideas."
Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or jlizama@timesdispatch.com.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement