Harvard-Westlake’s Research in Molecular Genetics Class went to Stanford University in collaboration with the Stan-X program for a symposium to present their year-long research April 27. Students from various schools came together to present their findings about the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly genetics and how genetic mutations affect them.
Julien Liu ’25 said even though the team had a difficult time preparing their lab results, he ultimately found it rewarding to see how the mutations eventually affected the flies.
“We ran into some challenges leading up to the trip regarding our individual Drosophila fly crosses and analyzing our DNA sequencing results for our fly presentation,” Liu said. “In our research, we were not completely sure what results we would get and which gene our transposable element would insert itself into, which led to some uncertainty in our results. After precisely breeding and sorting through different fly genotypes, it was interesting to analyze the movement of the element and the effects on the gene that it inserted itself into.”
Upper School Science Teacher and Department Head Melody Lee said the unpredictability of the outcomes is a big reason why the project is so informative.
“I can’t anticipate [the results of the project], but that’s also what makes it so much fun,” Lee said. “Every student is doing something different, and there’s always something that I did not expect to happen because part of the project is introducing a random mutation in the flies. The students and I have no control over the mutation, so it’s like a learning journey for both of us, which is what I love about [the project].”
Aviv Pilipski ’25 said listening to various students speak about their projects allowed him to view communication from a new perspective.
“I learned that clarity is just as powerful as complexity from the symposium,” Pilipski said. “Hearing my peers and students from other schools speak, I realized that the most impactful presentations weren’t the ones that were just loaded with jargon but the ones that were distilled into something profound and graspable. That changed how I think about communication a lot, not just in science but in any space where you need to get ideas across.”
Lee said she appreciated the quality time she spent with her students throughout the school year and at the symposium.
“I enjoyed getting to know the students and spending a lot of time together,” Lee said. “Also, the two classes that don’t usually interact got to spend time with each other. I got to see my students outside the classroom and really got to know them, and they got to know me. It’s definitely the best symposium I [have] attended over the past couple of years.”
