ST. MARTIN PARISH — At the Episcopal School of Acadiana (ESA) in Cade, two seniors are making history and gaining national recognition for their innovative research. Grace Pellegrin and Siyeon Joo, both accomplished students, collaborated on a research project, focused on the toxic effects of microgravity, which they say has opened doors to prestigious opportunities, including an invitation to the MIT THINK Scholars Program.
Grace and Siyeon’s project explores the effects of microgravity on cyanobacteria, a type of bacteria found in water. Microgravity is a condition similar to what astronauts experience in space, where gravity is extremely weak and objects appear to be weightless.
The research aims to understand how microgravity may alter the toxicity of cyanobacteria. "The toxicity of cyanobacteria may vary in the microgravity that they experience on the international space station, so it’s really important to the quality of water that they bring to the space station," said Pellegrin. "If that water becomes more toxic in space due to the cyanobacteria, it could pose a real threat to astronauts."
In December, the two students traveled to Puerto Rico with their ESA biology teacher Brittany Grissom to present their findings at the American Society of Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Conference. Their work earned them a spot in the prestigious MIT THINK Scholars Program.
Pellegrin Shares that although she felt the pressure of presenting their groundbreaking research, she found confidence in their unique contributions. "It was really nerve-racking, but at the end of the day, I sort of just realized, like, nobody has done what we did, so we sorta have the upper hand. Even if it feels like we’re being judged by everyone, we’re just here to teach what we learned and share our findings with everyone else."
Joo has a strong history in research, having competed in various science fairs, including the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). She has earned first place in multiple categories and received several awards for her scientific work.
“Seeing young people, seeing highschoolers doing professional research, it’s not universal, it’s not something that every highschool offers, i think they were just impressed that we had the caliber and the knowledge and the courage and persistence to be there and present this kind of knowledge” Joo states.
"It was very daunting, knowing that she had been so successful before because I was like, 'Okay, I can't come in with these new ideas and these new contributions and our project not be successful because then I’d just feel terrible,'" Pellegrin admitted. "So it was a little bit of pressure on me, but Siyeon has just been so welcoming and so informative with everything that I didn’t know. She’s taught me."
Joo began this particular project during her sophomore year. However, after encountering some roadblocks, she reached out to Grace for help to push their data forward. The two collaborated throughout their junior year and continued working together over the summer to refine their project. "Bouncing ideas off of one another and that was kinda as junior year was coming to a close," Joo explained. "We would work over the summer, we would have Zoom meetings to catch up on what we found online, what we had coming up, what kind of ideas we wanted to work into, so it kinda just came really organically”
The students are now the first from Louisiana to participate in the MIT THINK Scholars Program. As part of the program, they will work with MIT mentors throughout the spring semester, culminating in a capstone presentation. Both Joo and Pellegrin credit their success to their hard work and the support of members of the science department at ESA. "All these people just kind of culminated into creating the project that we now are super proud of," Joo said.
Looking ahead, Pellegrin and Joo are excited to continue their research through the MIT THINK Program and further enhance their findings.
