Newsletter
Parker Feltner
St. George, Utah
Biology
Creativity Engagement Track
Finding a Cure
My project is centered on the objective of curing my siblings’ rare genetic skin disorder (Xeroderma Pigmentosum or XP). I am incompetent to do so due to my lack of higher education and training, so I designed this project to get me one step closer to my goal. I attended a medical conference designed specifically for XP, held in Wichita, Kansas. My goal was to meet the dermatologists researching the disease and see if I could collaborate with them in the future in order to open doors to my future research and gain additional training and instruction from them. The conference also entailed lectures about the details of XP and was very informative.
Another main focus of my project was to interact with the children who have XP and help them have positive experiences with each other. These conferences are the only time that they can interact with someone that they can truly relate to and confide in so it is absolutely crucial that we put them in the situations necessary for those bonds to be made. I was able to supervise a large group of the XP kids while we went to the local zoo after hours. It was an amazing experience to watch these kids see an exotic animal for the first time in their lives due to their limitations. I watched them gain confidence in themselves as they finally were in a situation where they felt normal and that they fit in. It was a very heartwarming experience.
The inspiration for my project came from my own two siblings, Paris and Paxton, who have this rare disorder. When I was young, I would always pray that the “researchers” would find a cure to their disease. Later in my years, while serving on a church service mission, I caught myself repetitively praying for those same researchers to find a cure to XP. It then dawned on me that I could be that researcher or at least contribute in any way I can to the cure of their disease. Ever since that moment I have had no doubt in my mind what I will do in life. My siblings are my motivation and my drive.
I have been to many of these conferences, but I have never talked with the doctors, let alone ask them if I can work with them. I soon realized how willing and cooperative these doctors are and their enthusiasm and encouragement for me to continue on the path that I am on was almost overwhelming.
I always knew that I would have a opportunities like this, but I never imagined I was going to have as much support as I have received. I had originally applied to an internship at the NIH but I was not accepted due to the medical students already employed. I was very discouraged when I heard I had not received the internship, but I kept searching for ideas and opportunities, and then I thought of these medical conferences. I am very glad I did so.
I didn’t really encounter too many challenges in completing my project. Everything was smooth and I obtained my internship in a very casual way over lunch with a dermatologist.
This project didn’t benefit anyone but me at this point and time, but in the future, when I am a research dermatologist, it will benefit every single child with XP. I will be working tirelessly to find a cure and help those children be able to live a normal life.
The project gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. I will be working on the right hand of the lead researcher of my siblings disease. This will give me an edge on all of my peers applying not medical school. No one that I have talked to has had an opportunity like this and I will have a very valuable letter of recommendation that most students don’t have access to. This project also opened my eyes to how special all of the XP kids are. They are all individuals, but they are all so similar because of the way they have to live.
“Today I had lunch with Dr. Laura Kniedenhoffer and she extended an invitation to study with her and the University of Minnesota’s Medical School Facility. What a great day!”
“How cool is it that these kids are seeing a giraffe in real life for the first time. Pretty dang special.”
St. George, Utah
Biology
Creativity Engagement Track
Finding a Cure
My project is centered on the objective of curing my siblings’ rare genetic skin disorder (Xeroderma Pigmentosum or XP). I am incompetent to do so due to my lack of higher education and training, so I designed this project to get me one step closer to my goal. I attended a medical conference designed specifically for XP, held in Wichita, Kansas. My goal was to meet the dermatologists researching the disease and see if I could collaborate with them in the future in order to open doors to my future research and gain additional training and instruction from them. The conference also entailed lectures about the details of XP and was very informative.
Another main focus of my project was to interact with the children who have XP and help them have positive experiences with each other. These conferences are the only time that they can interact with someone that they can truly relate to and confide in so it is absolutely crucial that we put them in the situations necessary for those bonds to be made. I was able to supervise a large group of the XP kids while we went to the local zoo after hours. It was an amazing experience to watch these kids see an exotic animal for the first time in their lives due to their limitations. I watched them gain confidence in themselves as they finally were in a situation where they felt normal and that they fit in. It was a very heartwarming experience.
The inspiration for my project came from my own two siblings, Paris and Paxton, who have this rare disorder. When I was young, I would always pray that the “researchers” would find a cure to their disease. Later in my years, while serving on a church service mission, I caught myself repetitively praying for those same researchers to find a cure to XP. It then dawned on me that I could be that researcher or at least contribute in any way I can to the cure of their disease. Ever since that moment I have had no doubt in my mind what I will do in life. My siblings are my motivation and my drive.
I have been to many of these conferences, but I have never talked with the doctors, let alone ask them if I can work with them. I soon realized how willing and cooperative these doctors are and their enthusiasm and encouragement for me to continue on the path that I am on was almost overwhelming.
I always knew that I would have a opportunities like this, but I never imagined I was going to have as much support as I have received. I had originally applied to an internship at the NIH but I was not accepted due to the medical students already employed. I was very discouraged when I heard I had not received the internship, but I kept searching for ideas and opportunities, and then I thought of these medical conferences. I am very glad I did so.
I didn’t really encounter too many challenges in completing my project. Everything was smooth and I obtained my internship in a very casual way over lunch with a dermatologist.
This project didn’t benefit anyone but me at this point and time, but in the future, when I am a research dermatologist, it will benefit every single child with XP. I will be working tirelessly to find a cure and help those children be able to live a normal life.
The project gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. I will be working on the right hand of the lead researcher of my siblings disease. This will give me an edge on all of my peers applying not medical school. No one that I have talked to has had an opportunity like this and I will have a very valuable letter of recommendation that most students don’t have access to. This project also opened my eyes to how special all of the XP kids are. They are all individuals, but they are all so similar because of the way they have to live.
“Today I had lunch with Dr. Laura Kniedenhoffer and she extended an invitation to study with her and the University of Minnesota’s Medical School Facility. What a great day!”
“How cool is it that these kids are seeing a giraffe in real life for the first time. Pretty dang special.”
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