Name: Takashima Kenji
Age: 16 years old
Nationality: Singaporean
Personality: Fun-loving, optimistic, passion to learn, exploring new places and things
Hobbies+Interests
Movies: Amelie, Food Inc, The September Issue
Books: Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, J.D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye
Hobbies:Reading, searching for new contemporary music
Aspirations
-To be a surgeon
-possibly developing and researching on new vaccines
Visions for the Future
-Hopefully with the advancement of technology new ways could be devised to solve or alleviate the effects of natural disasters
-New replacements for oil and fuel which are more sustainable and less harming to the environment
Some Endeavours in Science:
My passion for science transcends merely striving for academic excellence, but i too aim to broaden my perspectives on the world of science, research and innovation as i do not believe that results are everything, but more importantly, what one experiences and has learnt is much more beneficial to his education. I constantly try to find avenues to test myself and to better my knowledge of science and the world around me; i hope to constantly learn more about science, in particular biology, and to apply my knowledge in contributions to society.
Project(2010):Subcellular Localization and Expression of the Major Capsid proteins of the Singapore Grouper Iridovirus (SGIV)
Introduction
- Capsid proteins are proteins on the surface of a virus that are replicated in the host cell, in the case of my project grouper cells, to form back a virus after replicaiton.
- The SGIV have caused significant losses in net cage fish farms due to induction of liver disease and premature death of grouper fish. My project thus aims to find out where these proteins reassemble in the fish cells as a means to develop vaccines to prevent viruses from replicating in fishes. We used fluorescent technology to track the replication procces in grouper cells.
Reflections
i think my project applies to this learning journey in terms of the prospect of innovation it provides. Should the results be used by biotech firms it could allow the production of specialized drugs aimed at reducing viral amplification in fish and thus reducing economic losses in fish farms accross the country. The prospect of contributing to society is definitely one that is exciting and interesting. However, the project also taught me alot outside that of merely obtaining results--the project had many ups and downs, such as the failure during dna coding, which led us to redo the project again, and taught us a valuable lesson of how research and innovation was not simply an equation, but involved a complex proccess of trial and error and calculated risks. It taught me to persevere and stya optimistic in research, and pay attention to details whilst pursuing a successful result.
Awards
- Singapore Youth Science Conference-Distinction
- Participated in Singapore Science Congress
- Projects Competition High Distinction
- Singapore Biomedical Olympiad: bronze
- National Microbiology Quiz:1st Runners Up(team)
