Campbell, CA, January 13, 2010 - Hunter Intern Selected as Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalist

Vishesh Jain, an intern at Hunter Labs in the summer of 2009 has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), which is America’s most prestigious science research competition for high school seniors. Since 1942, the Society for Science & the Public (SSP) has provided a national stage for America’s best and brightest young scientists to present original research to nationally recognized professional scientists.

Jain was one of three Harker school students participating in Hunter labs summer internship program for high school students entering their senior year. During the internship, Jain was given the responsibility of running a variety of calculations on the enormous data collection of various cardiovascular tests and patient histories for over 3,000 patients. When evaluating patients with “normal” Standard Lipid Panels, he noticed a large population of patients with abnormal Advanced Cardiovascular Risk Marker Tests. Using his findings, Jain co-authored a paper entitled: “The Prevalence of Hidden Cardiovascular Risk: The Inadequacy of the Standard Lipid Panel.”

Jain said his favorite part of the internship was participating in meetings with Hunter Laboratories executives, which often included people from other companies. “These meetings both allowed me to practice presenting scientific material in an intelligible manner and gave me a glimpse into the real mechanisms and relationships in the corporate world,” he said.
 

Having the opportunity to work within a real laboratory with actual professionals was beyond any internship he ever imagined. “I thought I would be cleaning test tubes, I had no idea that I would get the opportunity to work directly with the CEO and Medical Director to create a research paper that will soon be published.”

Alumni of STS have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and math honors, including seven Nobel Prizes and three National Medals of Science. Over 1,700 students entered the Intel STS, and only 300 semi-finalists were announced. Vishesh Jain was one of them. “Originally I had no intention of entering. I figured it was such a long-shot that there was no point. But my parents, Chris Riedel and the rest of the staff at Hunter kept encouraging me to try. And boy am I happy I did!”