Patricia Rea WINS BRONZE!

Patricia Rea loves science – and as a member of the STEM Kids Rock team she gets to enthusiastically share that passion while making friends with kids who have equally curious minds.

Patricia’s interest in genetics, microbiology and astronomy have been fueled by a steady diet of Quirks and Quarks, Cosmos and YouTube series like It’s Ok to Be Smart (along with binge-watching Star Trek and Dr. Who). She is a grade 7 student at St. Justin Martyr C.E.S. in Markham, and her goal is to become an astrobiologist.

This spring, Patricia is participating in her first science fair. Her project, Bioengineering Yeast with CRISPR: The Future Biological Factories of Mars, was selected to compete at the York Region Science & Technology Fair where she won a BRONZE MEDAL! Her experiment involved editing the DNA of yeast by adding a green fluorescent protein from jellyfish DNA, then testing the transformed yeast in a range of temperatures. Her goal was to discover if genetically edited yeast might be resilient enough for future Mars colonists.

We are thankful to have Patricia as a member of our STEM squad, inspiring curiosity and innovation in other students through her work in the community at STEM Kids Rocks events.