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MACLEAN, Virginia–The Center for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit here, will hold the nation's annual premier biology competition, the USA Biology Olympiad at George Mason University for 21 high school students nationwide. The 21 students were selected from almost 9,000 registered students after a series of competitions.

            Labs and lectures will be held June 2 to 10 Final exams are on June 11 and 12. The awards banquet is on June 12 at 6 p.m. "This program offers students high-quality time in a science lab," said Joann DiGennaro, Center for Excellence in Education president.

            Among the students are two Asian Americans, Jonathan Liang and  Andrew Shie, both of Thomas S. Wooton High School.  Shie is a senior and is planning to attend MIT. He hopes to pursue an advanced degree in biology, biochemistry or molecular biology. He’s also considering the medical field, research, or an engineering career with emphasis on oncology.

            The coolest science project that Andrew has participated in was at Georgetown University where he investigated the role of inhibitor of differentiation/DNA-binding transcription factors in the molecular mechanisms of skin cancer.

            People would be surprised to know that Andrew is also a musician who has performed with the All-State Orchestra, with the National Festival Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and also at Chicago ’s International Midwest Music Clinic.

            Liang is a sophomore at Thomas S. Wooton High School.  He says that a long-term project of his would be to try to allow evolution of proto-cells capable of reproduction, metabolism, and growth.  In five years, Jonathan sees himself majoring in biology, specifically genetics, and ultimately obtaining a research internship.

            When he’s not studying biology, Jonathan chats with friends online and plays empire-builder games. He also helps plan and edit some of his friends’ short fictional stories.  He also spends time in deep thought. He said, “Every so often, I ponder major philosophical issues and get a huge headache!”

Top universities

For almost  two weeks, students will attend labs and lectures in genetics, microbiology, protein and DNA chemistry, plant and vertebrate anatomy/physiology, invertebrate biology, among other topics - all taught by distinguished researchers from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, Brandeis University, George Washington University, Yale University and Towson State University.

A Distinguished Lecture Series comprised of corporate and academic innovators will deal on practical applications of the biological sciences. 

            The 21 students are California: Alexandre Boulgakov, Santa Monica High School , Santa Monica; Johnny Hwang, Mission San Jose High School, Fremont; Jingkun (Ginger) Yang, Monta Vista High School , Cupertino;

            Delaware: Yingyu Gao, Phillips Exeter Academy, Hockessin; Maryland: Jonathan Liang, Thomas S. Wootton High School, North Potomac; Andrew Shie, Thomas S. Wootton High School , Rockville;

            North Carolina: Meng Xiao He, East Chapel Hill High School , Chapel Hill; New Jersey: Ann Ouyang, Holmdel High School , Holmdel, Julia Rogers, Glen Ridge High School , Glen Ridge; Mark Shteyn, East Brunswick High School , East Brunswick ; Damon Wang, Bergen County Academies , Fort Lee ;

            New York: Zachary Frankel, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn; Ping He, Stuyvesant High School , Forest Hills; Jun Kim, Bronx High School of Science, Bayside; Margarita Krivitski, Stuyvesant High School , Forest Hills; Benjamin Lee, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn; Helen Yang, Clarkstown South High School , New City;

            Pennsylvania:  Francois Greer, State College Area High School , State College; Barry Liu, State College Area High School , State College ; Texas: Asad Moten, Clear Creek High School , Houston; Washington: Seungsoo Kim, Mountain View High School , Vancouver.