Eric David Brooks
New York
Eric David Brooks, 16, of Hewlett, studied the racial genetic factors affecting
the metastatic (spread) potential of prostate cancer for his Intel Science
Talent Search bioinformatics & genomics project. He analyzed copy number
variation - differences in the number of identical bases in DNA samples that code
for the same gene - across ethnic groups. This data was used to identify which
genes affected the cancer's potential to metastasize, either positively or
negatively. Candidate genes were found, many of which were observed to play a
role in other cancers, implying that racial disparities among cancer victims are
the result of numerous genes that control cell structure and growth. Eric is a
cellist with the Long Island Youth Orchestra and in the chamber and pit
orchestras at
George W. Hewlett High School, where he is also news editor of the school paper
and captain of both the Math Olympiad and Mock Trial teams. The recipient of
many awards and honors, he is the son of Bruce Brooks and Ellen Epstein. Eric's
desire to attend Yale or Columbia and conduct scientific research is driven by
his insatiable desire to explore and improve the world around us.
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