The research project for the 2009/2010 year focused on the genomic sequence analysis of the duckweed Wolffia arrhiza, and how the genes in this organism compare to other species. Students in the project isolated and sequenced genes from a cDNA plasmid library of genes expressed in Wolffia arrhiza. They then analyzed these sequences using the DNA Sequence Analysis Program (DSAP) The sequences of these genes has never been determined before and this information was deposited in the NCBI sequence databases for the students and other scientists to use. Students in the program compared these sequences with genes from other eukaryotes to determine the evolutionary relationship of these organisms and the sequence conservation of specific genes. Summer Institutes were held at the Waksman Institute, Rutgers University in central New Jersey, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD and the University of Texas at Austin, TX.
| School | City | State | Teacher(s) | # of students (on DSAP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arundel Senior High School | Gambrills | MD | Ms. Mable Stewart | 0 |
| Bayonne High School | Bayonne | NJ | Ms. Holly Levin | 12 |
| Bladensburg High School | Bladensburg | MD | Ms. Alma Coggs Smith | 3 |
| Bordentown High School | Bordentown | NJ | Ms. Karen Harrison | 6 |
| Colonial High School | Woodbridge | NJ | Ms. Chantal Greffer | 12 |
| East Brunswick High School | East Brunswick | NJ | Ms. Anne Sanelli | 58 |
| Hackettstown High School | Hackettstown | NJ | Ms. Patricia Miller | 30 |
| High Point Regional High School | Sussex | NJ | Ms. Madelaine Travaille | 17 |
| Hillsborough High School | Hillsborough | NJ | Dr. Craig Hoppe | 11 |
| James Caldwell High School | West Caldwell | NJ | Mr. Paul Marrone | 13 |
| JF Kennedy Memorial High School | Woodbridge | NJ | Ms. Grace Luan | 37 |
| JP Stevens High School | Edison | NJ | Mr. Jay Jones | 10 |
| Largo High School | Upper Marlboro | MD | Ms. Stephanie Hammond | 2 |
| Liberty High School | Bethlehem | PA | Ms. Amy Giannantonio | 19 |
| Monmouth Regional High School | Tinton Falls | NJ | Ms. Wendy Wolverton | 4 |
| Montville Township High School | Montville | NJ | Mr. Greg Maceri | 38 |
| New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology H.S. | New Brunswick | NJ | Mr. Andre Bridgett | 6 |
| Oxon Hills High School | Oxon Hills | MD | Mr. Albakry Koroma | 2 |
| Pascack Hills High School | Montvale | NJ | Dr. Martin Edelberg | 27 |
| Pascack Valley High School | Hillsdale | NJ | Dr. Marlene Healey | 10 |
| Rutgers Preparatory School | Somerset | NJ | Ms. Jacque Lamb | 9 |
| Science and Math Academy at Aberdeen | Aberdeen | MD | Ms. Linda McDonough | 47 |
| Sidwell Friends School; | Washington | DC | Ms. Paula Wang | 9 |
| Somerville High School | Somerville | NJ | Mr. George Mellors | 32 |
| The Pingry School | Martinsville | NJ | Ms. Deirdre O`Mara | 15 |
| Walter Johnson High Scchool | Bethesda | MD | Ms. Joan McDermott | 52 |
| Watchung Hills Regional High School | Warren | NJ | Ms. Anne-Marie Cannon | 24 |
| West Windsor Plainsboro High School South | Princeton Junction | NJ | Dr. Meenakshi Bhattacharya | 50 |
| Westwood High School | Austin | TX | Ms. Joy Killough | 27 |
| Total number of schools | 29 | Total number of students | 582 |