Where no Madison High student has gone before

By SALLY CAPONE Staff Writer By SALLY CAPONE Staff Writer
02/14/2007

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MADISON – For the first time, a Madison High School senior is among the 40 finalists who will participate in the Intel Science Talent Search 2007, America’s oldest and most prestigious high school science competition.


The student, Megan Marie Blewett of Niles Avenue, will travel to Washington, D.C., where she and other competitors will undergo a rigorous judging process from March 8 to March 14, meet with national leaders, interact with leading scientists and display their research at the National Academy of Sciences.

The week will culminate with a black-tie gala, where 10 students will be chosen for scholarships totaling $530,000, with the top winner receiving a $100,000 scholarship. Each of the 40 finalists will also receive a new laptop run with the Intel® CoreTM2 Duo processor.

Blewett, 17, entered the competition with a medicine and health project that is the biochemical phase of a multi-year effort focused on multiple sclerosis (MS) and potentially related diseases.

On The Trail Of MS

Through five years of geo-spatial statistical research, she discovered a significant geographic overlap between populations with MS and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and wanted to find a biochemical basis.

She chose to study a protein, neuregulin-1, thought to be a susceptibility gene for these disorders.

By using small molecule microarray analysis, she discovered five candidate ligands - compounds that bind with the target protein - whose structures could help elucidate the function of NRG1 isoform, a protein derivative, and aid in designing better therapeutic options.

The Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where her experiments were conducted, is using her preliminary results to launch additional studies.

“It all started in the sixth grade when I asked for a neuroscience book for Christmas and realized so little was known about multiple sclerosis,” Blewett said.

“I’m so thrilled about the competition; it should be lots of fun,” she said.

Blewett’s future plans include a career in medical research with a focus on MS, its causes and cures, she said.

While college plans are not firmed up yet, Blewett has been accepted to Harvard, Yale and Stanford.

The daughter of Drs. Charles Blewett and Margaret Kilduff, Blewett plays varsity tennis at Madison High School, studies Mandarin Chinese, plays in a flute orchestra and has a brown belt in karate.

Last year, she participated in the Physics Olympics team for Madison High School, said Carole Rawding, who taught Blewett in Honors Physics during her junior year.

Rawding recalled that Blewett generated numerous ideas for the projects required.

“Megan went home the night before the competition with a ‘new idea’ for a zero impact vehicle, and returned the next morning with a newly designed and constructed project which traveled the required 8 meters, then stopped 5 mm from the wall,” Rawding said.

“Megan was a student in my AP (Advanced Placement) biology class during her freshman year, the only freshman I have ever had in AP Bio,” said Stanley Pazden, chairman of the science department at Madison High School.

“She was a straight ‘A’ student and earned a 5 on the AP exam,” he said.

“She is, without a doubt, one of the brightest students I’ve ever taught. She is definitely the most self-motivated; I wish I had more like her,” he said.

Claire Miller, who taught Blewett in AP chemistry, describes her as “magnificent.”

Two other New Jersey teens, from Middletown Township and South Brunswick Township, are also among the finalists, who were disclosed on Jan. 31.