Finán Gammell
East Greenwich High School
East Greenwich, Rhode Island
Transcriptomic Analysis for Evaluating Gene Saturation and Impact on Disease Progression
Finán created a statistical model to study genes involved in cancer progression. Diseases like cancer are complex, and how they manifest can differ based on factors like genetics.
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Finán Gammell, 17, of East Greenwich, created a statistical computer model to find genes linked to cancer progression for his Regeneron Science Talent Search computational biology and bioinformatics project. Diseases like cancer are far from one-size-fits-all. Finán knew that studies have found that cancer and other diseases manifest differently based on many factors. To study how gene activity may affect disease progression, he ran publicly available cancer patient data through his model, THRESHOLD. The model looked for statistically significant patterns in gene activity in patients grouped by cancer type, age, sex and stage.
He studied subsets of patients grouped by cancer type, age, sex and stage. He found patterns of gene activity linked with the disease getting worse, coming back or spreading. Finán believes his model can help personalize cancer care and be useful for other diseases.
Finán, the son of Elaine and Patrick Gammell, attends East Greenwich High School, where he is a leader in several STEM clubs, student body president, captain of the varsity swim team, and even an amateur barber. Additionally, he was the youngest Data for Good Summer Employment program supervisor at the Providence Public Library.
Beyond the Project
Finán is the founder and president of his school’s science fair club and captain of his school’s math team. He is president of his Class Council and captain of the varsity swim team.
FUN FACTS: Finán learned to embrace nonscientific cooking thanks to his grandfather. It has challenged him greatly, but he’s learned to embrace uncertainty using dashes and squeezes instead of milliliters or teaspoons.
