63rd Annual STS (2003-2004)
Finalists
Herbert Mason Hedberg

MASSACHUSETTS
Herbert Mason Hedberg, 17, of North Attleboro, experimented with the telomerase enzyme found in cancer cells for his Intel Science Talent Search project in biochemistry. Inspired by reading an article on the role of telomerase in cancer cell proliferation-at a time when his grandmother was undergoing cancer treatment-Mason set out to develop a faster, more efficient method to screen for telomerase inhibitors and rank their potency as potential tumor suppressors. The standard method for analyzing telomerase inhibitors requires a multiple-day procedure involving telomerase isolation and hazardous reagents, but Mason's analysis, using a novel dialysis chamber that he invented (provisional patent application) and telomerase synthesized by in vitro gene expression, makes analysis by UV absorbance possible after an approximately 10-minute incubation. At North Attleboro High School, Mason has lettered in swimming and is president of the National Honor Society and science club. He is the founder of "Exciting Elementary Science," a program designed to encourage scientific curiosity. The son of Herbert Hedberg and Dr. Cynthia Hjerpe, he hopes to attend Brown University.