By Megan Badger
Wire Managing Editor
Like most teenagers, Jonah Kallenbach is plenty busy. He plays the guitar, likes to ski, competes on his high school swimming and water polo teams, and is the editor of his school’s magazine.
Yet, there’s something about the 18-year-old Germantown Academy student that separates him from his peers. Kallenbach is one of the smartest people his age in the country.
The Ambler resident recently competed in the Intel Science Talent Search, a nationwide competition for high school seniors conducting original scientific research. Kallenbach took home a $75,000 scholarship and second place honors for his bioinformatics research. The high school senior created a computer program that predicts protein binding for drug therapy.
“My general field of research is bioinformatics, which is the application of biotechnology in computer technology,” Kallenbach explained. “I figured out when certain classes of proteins, large organic molecules, when they interact.
“Proteins are the workhorses of molecular systems in the cell. They are abundant in all living things and vital to the function of all living things,” he continued. “Proteins gain function, we used to think, by having one single structure and that one structure had one function. What we’ve discovered recently is one protein can accomplish many functions.
“What I did was figure out when a special protein that’s ‘disordered’ will interact with a protein that’s ordered,” he explained. “That research might have an impact on drug design and lead to structure-based drug design. It potentially opens up a new class of drug interactions.”
Simply put, Kallenbach’s research may lead to new drug treatment for diseases like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and tuberculosis, according to Intel.
To take part in the competition, he first had to write a scientific paper about his research and complete what resembled a college application. About 2,000 people entered the competition before judges narrowed the competition down to 300 semi-finalists, he explained. From the 300 semi-finalists, 40 students were chosen as finalists to compete for the top 10 scholarships prizes, which ranged from a $20,000 to $100,000.
The 40 finalists took an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. — where Kallenbach lived until he was 9 — and presented their research to the judges. While at the capital, finalists explored the city, presented their work to the public at the National Geographic Society and met with distinguished scientists in their fields.
“The coolest thing we did was meeting the president,” he said. “That was really, really cool. He spoke to us for a few minutes about the importance of science and technology, and we all exchanged a few words with him.”
The winners were announced at a March 12 ceremony in Washington. The first place prize went to Sara Volz of Colorado, who conducted research on algae biofuels.
“I would say the most incredible thing about the experience was to meet the other finalists and meet kids like me who are interested in science,” Kallenbach said. “They were all such interesting and dynamic people. I made a ton of new friends and we’ve kept in surprisingly close contact.”
Kallenbach said he already knew some of the finalists from the Research Science Institute at MIT, a free summer program for select high school students that combines college coursework and research.
Kallenbach’s scientific knowledge and original research has already opened a lot of doors for him.
After he graduates from Germantown Academy this June, he plans to attend Harvard, MIT or Stanford. He’s still deciding among the three, and is unsure what he will study for his undergraduate degree.
“I think I want to major in either math or computer science, but also take other courses that would apply in biology or chemistry,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kallenbach will stay plenty busy at GA with his long list of extracurricular activities. He is the head of the ethics club, where he participates in debates; the school magazine, where he is a writing mentor; and the school science center, where he tutors other students. He also makes time for the fun stuff — sports, music and friends.
To learn more about the Intel Science Talent Search, or to see the full list of winners, visit www.intel.com/ScienceTalentSearch.
