62nd Annual STS (2002-2003)
Finalists
Yi-Chen Zhang

NEW YORK
Yi-Chen Zhang, 17, of Forest Hills, submitted to the Intel Science Talent Search a medicine and health project examining the influence of pesticides on cockroach allergens associated with respiratory disorders such as asthma. In working with a research team at the Columbia University School of Public Health, Yi-Chen ("Lilly") maintained experimental colonies of German cockroaches, which she exposed to non-lethal doses of boric acid and hydramethylnon gel pesticides. She used immunological assays and statistical analyses to measure fecal allergen concentration, and concluded that cockroach ingestion of low concentrations of boric acid pesticides increased their production of a major allergen, while ingestion of the other pesticide did not. Lilly was the first author of an abstract of this study, which she presented at the 2002 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology conference. After graduation from The Bronx High School of Science, she hopes to pursue research in immunology at the University of Chicago. Born in China, Lilly is the daughter of Jian-Jun Zhang and Xiao-Yuan Tang. Her hobbies include painting, papermaking, photography and writing.