Sunanda Sharma
Massachusetts
Sunanda Sharma, 17, of Shrewsbury, investigated the effect of an enriched
environment on autism-relevant behavior for her Intel Science Talent Search
project in behavioral & social sciences. Focusing on an autism candidate gene
(called PTEN), active in embryo formation and development, she studied both
juvenile and adult mice, using those with PTEN irregularities as autism models.
After exposing them to significant sensory and social enrichment, she quantified
changes in their behavior through a set of tests that measured patterns of
social approach and anxiety, both critical in determining potential
interventions in any autism model. She believes her findings show that
environmental enrichment can be used to influence deficits in brain circuitry
caused by genetic abnormality even when the gene is very early-acting, and is a
co-author of a paper on the subject being prepared for publication. At
Shrewsbury High School, Sunanda is active in speech and debate, plays clarinet
in the band, works on the newspaper and is a mentor. She has won numerous honors
in state and regional science fairs and hopes to attend MIT or Harvard. She is a
native of India and the daughter of Jitendra and Usha Sharma.
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