Siddhartha Gautama Jena
Michigan
International Academy
Siddhartha Gautama Jena, 18, of Bloomfield Hills, conducted a three-year study of the effect of excess cholesterol on the ability of
red blood cells to transport water, oxygen and carbon dioxide for his Intel Science Talent Search medicine and health project. By
measuring the movement of these life-sustaining molecules into and out of red blood cells in the presence and absence of elevated
cholesterol, Siddhartha demonstrated that excess cholesterol impaired their transport. He also found that a common treatment for
Type II diabetes, glyburide, and a compound called ONO-RS-O82 can offset these detrimental effects of elevated cholesterol. He hopes
that this new understanding will result in the early diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with elevated cholesterol.
Siddhartha attends International Academy, is active on the Science Olympiad team and the student council, and is co-founder of an
event to raise funds for educational infrastructure in poor countries. He has earned awards for both solo and ensemble piano
performances and as a saxophone soloist. The son of Bhanu and Minakhi Jena, Siddhartha is first author on a paper related to this
project published in the Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry.
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