The research project for the 2011/2012 WSSP focused on the analysis of the mRNA population of Wolffia australiana, a duckweed. The goal of the research was to determine which genes are expressed in this organism, and how they compared with expressed genes from other species. Students in the project used molecular biology and bioinformatic techniques to isolate and sequenced genes from a cDNA library (a collection of mRNA's copied into DNA's). Students used the DNA Sequence Analysis Program to analyze the gene sequences. These sequences have never been determined before. If a student successfully analyzed a sequence, it was published in GenBank, the international repository of all known DNA sequences, for other scientists to study. Each published sequence bears the student's name and his/her teacher's name. A complete list of the schools, teachers and number of students that participated in the 2011/2012 WSSP can be found below with links to their published sequences.
School | City | State | Teacher(s) | # of students |
Arundel Senior High School | Gambrills | MD | Mr. Adam Swetz | 28 |
Bayonne High School | Bayonne | NJ | Ms. Holly Levin | 14 |
Blair Academy | Blairstown | NJ | Mr. Blair Buck | 28 |
Bordentown High School | Bordentown | NJ | Ms. Karen Harrison | 19 |
Cherry Hill High School East | Cherry Hill | NJ | Ms. Bethany Lau | 6 |
Col Zadok Magruder High School | Rockville | MD | Ms. Donna Considine | 46 |
Dougherty Valley High School | San Ramon | CA | Ms. Katherine Huang | 9 |
Dundalk High School | Baltimore | MD | Mr. Ronald David Saul | 2 |
East Brunswick High School | East Brunswick | NJ | Ms. Anne Sanelli | 52 |
Frederick High School | Frederick | MD | Mr. Mark Trice | 2 |
Hackettstown High School | Hackettstown | NJ | Ms. Patricia Miller | 22 |
High Point Regional High School | Sussex | NJ | Ms. Madelaine Travaille | 34 |
Hillsborough High School | Hillsborough | NJ | Dr. Craig Hoppe | 19 |
Independence School Local1 | Baltimore | MD | Ms. Jocelyn Virtudes | 0 |
James Caldwell High School | West Caldwell | NJ | Mr. Paul Marrone | 11 |
Jonathan Dayton High School | Springfield | NJ | Mr. Zachary Cohan | 10 |
JP Stevens High School | Edison | NJ | Mr. Jay Jones | 64 |
Kenwood High School | Baltimore | MD | Ms. Alison Maier | 2 |
Lago Vista High School | Lago Vista | TX | Ms. Karen Green | 9 |
Lansdowne High School | Baltimore | MD | Ms. Paula Medley | 1 |
Liberty High School | Bethlehem | PA | Ms. Amy Giannantonio | 25 |
Modesto High School | Modesto | CA | Mr. Jeff Austin | 8 |
Monmouth Regional High School | Tinton Falls | NJ | Ms. Wendy Wolverton | 2 |
Montville Township High School | Montville | NJ | Mr. Jonathon Henzel | 27 |
New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology H.S. | New Brunswick | NJ | Mr. Andre Bridgett | 15 |
North County High School | Glen Burnie | MD | Mr. Reed Cooper | 13 |
Old Bridge High School | Old Bridge | NJ | Ms. Adele Cockrill | 10 |
Pascack Hills High School | Montvale | NJ | Dr. Martin Edelberg | 12 |
Pascack Valley High School | Hillsdale | NJ | Dr. Marlene Healey | 18 |
Perryville High School | Perryville | MD | Ms. Cathy Schlecker | 3 |
Piscataway High School | Piscataway | NJ | Dr. Craig Lollin, Jr. | 25 |
Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School | Livingston | NJ | Dr. Michael Ricketts | 10 |
Rutgers Preparatory School | Somerset | NJ | Ms. Jacque Lamb | 13 |
Science and Math Academy at Aberdeen | Aberdeen | MD | Ms. Linda McDonough | 50 |
Somerville High School | Somerville | NJ | Mr. George Mellors | 18 |
South River High School | East Edgewater | MD | Ms. Tanya Marushak | 40 |
Southern High School | Harwood | MD | Ms. Rachael Morrison | 19 |
St. Stephen`s Episcopal School | Austin | TX | Ms. Debbie VanRyn | 13 |
The Frisch School | Paramus | NJ | Dr. Mindy Furman | 23 |
The Khabele School | Austin | TX | Ms. Kelley Janes | 10 |
The Pingry School | Martinsville | NJ | Ms. Deirdre O`Mara | 60 |
Towson High School | Towson | MD | Ms. Christine Roberts | 9 |
Tracy High School | Tracy | CA | Ms. Erin McKay | 11 |
Waipahu High School | Waipahu | CA | Mr. Michael Sana | 54 |
Walter Johnson High Scchool | Bethesda | MD | Ms. Joan McDermott | 20 |
Watchung Hills Regional High School | Warren | NJ | Ms. Anne-Marie Cannon | 19 |
West Morris Central High School | Chester | NJ | Ms. Margaret Sheldon | 0 |
West Windsor Plainsboro High School South | Princeton Junction | NJ | Dr. Meenakshi Bhattacharya | 71 |
Westbury Christian School | Houston | TX | Mr. Wen Zhao | 7 |
Winston Churchill High Scchool | Potomac | MD | Ms. Ginny Brown | 57 |
Total number of students | 1040 |