The goal of SciCats is to increase the science education of K-12 students. Our graduate students who participate in the program gain teaching and communication skills, as well as organization and project management principles. This community-outreach program allows our graduate students to practice community-outreach and to develop relationships with local educators.
“My hope is that someday each and every child in Kentucky who wants to learn more about science and take part in research will be able to do just that.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 11, 2015) — Adil Yusuf, a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School who conducts research at the UK College of Pharmacy, has burst onto the local and national scientific research scene this spring. Yusuf, who participates in Dunbar’s acclaimed Math, Science, and Technology (MSTC) program, received the 2015 Yale Science and Engineering Association Science Fair Award and first place in chemistry at the Central Kentucky Regional Science and Engineering Fair. As part of his award, Yusuf has been invited to participate in the 13th annual Kentucky Science & Engineering Fair on March 28, 2015, at Eastern Kentucky University.
Yusuf conducts research at the College under the mentorship of faculty members Oleg Tsodikov and Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova. His work has been focused on an important field in science: developing a new, more efficient method of producing new antibiotics. The title of his award-winning project is, “A Statistical Analysis and Characterization of the Chemical Structures That Constitute Effective Antibiotics.”
“Over the course of the past two decades, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of FDA approved antibiotics,” said Yusuf. “This is due in part to the inefficient drug discovery methods that are being used. My project takes a different, more statistical approach to this problem and has the potential to help produce new antibiotics.”
Yusuf is a great example of how the UK College of Pharmacy is opening the world of science and discovery to students before they even enroll at the university. Drs. Tsodikov and Garneau-Tsodikova take great pride in reaching out and mentoring students early in their academic careers, as they seek to spark a new generation of curious and inquisitive scientists.
“I did not have the same opportunity when I was young, but I would have loved to,” said Dr. Garneau-Tsodikova, who created SciCats, a program designed to spark an interest in science in local elementary, middle, and high school students. “My hope is that someday each and every child in Kentucky who wants to learn more about science and take part in research will be able to do just that right here in Kentucky.”
And, according to Yusuf, the outcomes of that hands-on experience speaks for itself.
“This was my first experience in a laboratory setting, and it has helped me realize that I would like to pursue this path of work in the future,” he said. “As a result of my experience in the Tsodikov and Garneau-Tsodikova laboratories, I plan on becoming a researcher at a university. I also hope to one day start my own biotech/pharmaceutical company.”
Adil Yusuf
