CICY Talent Science Fair held

Merida, California, July 19, 2024.- After a two-week research stay, 41 young members of the 13th CICY Talent Generation, Preparatory Method, presented the results of their projects to the public during the CICY Talent Science Fair 2024.

At the end of the event, the Director General of the Center, Dr. Mayra Rubi Segura Campos, congratulated the young people who carried out their projects at the Center, and invited them to continue developing their interest in science so that they may become future professionals or even researchers. She also thanked the research team for advising the participants on their projects.

During this year, the CICY Talent Preparatory Course was held from July 8 to 19 with the participation of 41 young people who carried out one of the eight submitted projects, covering topics related to fungal DNA and its application as a biocide; biochemical properties of plants; molecular biology; plant-pathogen interactions; fluorescent proteins; polymeric scaffolds and traditional medicine; scanning electron microscopy; and recrystallization of salts.

During their stay at CICY, they were also able to learn complementary subjects on the flora of the Yucatán Peninsula, on light phenomena; on the importance of recycling; scientific photography; DNA experiments; and on mass and physics, taught by CICY staff; and other workshops on Chagas disease and its transmission, taught by the Hideyo Noguchi Regional Research Center of the UADY; and on wild plants of the Southeast and their medicinal potential, taught by CIATEJ, the Southeast Sub-Headquarters.

At the end of their stay at the center, the participants demonstrated their understanding of the topic studied, as they presented their project to the public at the science exhibition. The winning projects were:

First place: “Scanning Electron Microscopy and its Scope”, composed by Juan Carlos Rehani Millet, Yadier José Sarabia Herrera, and Zafiro Lira Hernández, under the supervision of Silvia Andrade Cantú.

Second place “Polymeric scaffolds and traditional medicine for wound care”, composed of Andrea Chesed Guerrero Villa, Gabriela Calderón Martínez, Hector Miguel Rose Co, José Abraham Diaz, Sol Emmanuel Beltrán González, and Ysel Angelica Canchi Pérez, advised by Nayli Rodríguez Fuentes, Emma Gabriela Antonio Marcos, Gaspar Eduardo Martin Batt, Maritza Galván Ramos, and José Manuel Cervantes University of California.

Third place, project “Fluorescence Science: Use of Reporter Proteins in the Laboratory,” composed of Derek Maximiliano González Malaver, Eric Castaño Zdrahalova, Katia Andrea Toledo Diaz, Kevin Aaron Luna Ton, Mariana Canol Bock, and advised by Fulgencio Alatorre Cobos, Lucila Sánchez Cash, Angela Co González, and Luis Carlos Gutierrez Pacheco.

It is worth noting that CICY Talent is a program implemented by the center since 2012 annually in four ways: secondary, preparatory, teachers and science track, with the aim of encouraging the scientific profession among young people and adolescents.