Niranjan and Nirali at the ISEF 2013
Niranjan Balachandar and Nirali Thakor, students from Shepton High School were placed second in the Mathematics Category at the ISEF, 2013 held at Phoenix, AZ last May. Their project was titled n"Hold Your Fold" used Monte Carlo Simulation techniques in predicting misfolds in Tau Proteins in the brain cells that are linked to the Alheizmer''s disease. Niranjan came up with the idea of modeling misfolding proteins using random walk techniques after observing long telephone cords getting tangled up during conversations and connected it with a news clip on protein misfolding that was identified as one of the possible cause of Alzheimer''s disease.
Niranjan teamed up with his schoolmate Nirali Thakor and researched further on this phenomenon and computed misfolding patterns of tau proteins using innovative methodologies. Niranjan and Nirali noted that "This is important, as understanding the normal folding patterns of tau is a step closer to comprehending the abnormal folding that leads to Alzheimer’s. Further research of this project may include addition of various biological parameters to the simulation like bond angles, electric charges, levels of polarity, etc. for greater accuracy in modeling. It may also be useful to study abnormalities in protein folding as seen in certain human diseases, and specifically examine clinical data of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Their effort was rewarded with a second place in the Mathematics category where they competed against 50 other students from various parts of the US and the world. They also won several special awards from different special groups, such as Sigma Xi, and NASA. Congratulations to them for a well deserved praise.