Senior earns spot in science contest

Jimmy Meixiong's aptitude for science might earn him an early six-figure Christmas present.

The 17-year-old Lakeside High School senior will travel to New York to take part in the national Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology from Dec. 5-8.

He was one of six contestants chosen during recent regional contests. His win came Saturday at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"The Siemens competition is one of the premier science competitions in the country," Jimmy said. "Making it this far is a very big honor for me."

The grand prize is $100,000. Jimmy won $10,000 for his region win.

Lakeside Principal Jeff Carney said he knows of no other student from the school to make it this far in the contest.

"It's an awesome opportunity for him," Dr. Carney said. "Georgia had just one student (competing in the regionals) and he's from our school. We're proud of him."

Jimmy spent the summer working 40-hour weeks at the Medical College of Georgia, where his parents are neuroscience researchers, developing his project, "Inhibition of Bax/Bak Activation by Mitochondrial Fusion: A Novel Mechanism to Block Programmed Cell Death."

Jimmy developed a fascination for biochemistry during a ninth-grade biology course, and he was particularly intrigued by how cells die, he said.

"There are tens of millions of cells in our bodies that die each year," he said. "I was interested in the processes behind that."

The potential applications for his project might include drug therapies to treat cancer, neurological disorders and degenerative disorders, Jimmy said.

Should he win, Jimmy said he intends to use the money for tuition. He has applied to Stanford, Yale, Princeton and Harvard universities.

Reach Donnie Fetter at (706) 868-1222, ext. 115, or donnie.fetter@augustachronicle.com.