Step-Up High School Summer research Symposium

The Short-Term Research Experience for Underepresented Persons (STEP-UP) program

is a program under the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease *a branch of National Institute of Health

Tristan's Experience:

I spent around 7 weeks with a university professor and worked on a science research project. You will have to prepare a professional science abstract, poster, and an oral presentation on your findings. At the end of the program, there is a symposium in which you must present your project orally. You will be questioned by university professors and they will also give you feedback of improvements. If your abstract and presentation is good enough, you will have an opportunity to present your project (all expenses paid) and represent Guam at the National Institute of Health's headquarters in Bathesda, Maryland for the STEPUP national conference.

My project is to analyze the effects of salinity on the growth rate of Sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) in tissue culture, and on the germination and growth rate of Pakchoi ( Brassica rapa var. chinensis) and I connected it to global warming and how a rise in sea level is sinking pacific islands and hurting agricultural yield due to an increase in ground salinity.