Messmer High School senior Karla Romero always liked science classes and she excels in her schoolwork. She plans to major in science and then pursue a medical degree. When Chemistry and AP Biology Teacher Carol Johnson suggested she might be a good fit for the SMART Team, Karla jumped at the chance.

Karla describes the program. "The SMART Team is a group of high school students who team up with mentors from the scientific community to do research and make a physical model of a protein. The other team members are Nancy Alba, Darrell Anderson, TeAngelo Cargile, Sara Kujjo and Giovanni Rodriguez. Giovanni and I are co-captains. Our mentors were Ph.D. candidate Malathi Narayan and Dr. Sally Twining of the Eye Institute at the Medical College of Wisconsin." Like Karla, all of the team members are high achieving students with a specific interest in science.

Karla explains that the student group's task was to research the protein ß-catenin. The mentors gave the team a brief description of the protein and provided them with articles. From there, the students created a computer model of the protein which Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) students used to build a physical model. The SMART Team also wrote an abstract and designed a poster as a visual representation of their research findings. These findings support ongoing research within the scientific community around the role played by ß-catenin in a number of diseases ranging from developmental defects to colon cancer. The findings are critical in developing medications and treatments of these diseases.

After the research was completed, the group had the special opportunity to present their poster and the research to the public as well as to a distinguished group of scientists representing the Medical College of Wisconsin and MSOE. Senior Darrell Anderson describes the experience: "Presenting at the Medical College of Wisconsin was one of the best things about being on the SMART Team. It was fun to go out and talk to a lot of people who were interested in what we researched."

But their adventure was not yet complete.

In April, The SMART Team had the distinct privilege to travel to Anaheim, CA, to include their research at the Experimental Biology Conference 2010, a premier conference where scientists from around the world present cutting edge research findings. Senior Sara Kujjo describes the trip and the experience: "It was amazing to be able to present our research next to undergraduate and graduate students. Our hard work was worth it because this experience will help us with our careers."

The SMART Team members wish to express their gratitude to MSOE and the Medical College of Wisconsin for this phenomenal opportunity. They offer special thanks to their mentors, Ms. Narayan and Dr. Twining, and their dedicated teacher, Ms. Johnson, for all of their support and encouragement along the way.

Watch a video diary of the SMART Team's trip to Anaheim, CA.

See the SMART Team’s presentation at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Take a closer look at the SMART Team’s research poster.

Why is Darrell wearing an armadillo costume?