Islip High School students participating in the Student Partnerships for Advanced Research and Knowledge (SPARK) program at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) recently visited the lab to work on a beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLSII). SPARK provides high schoolers with an opportunity to become visiting researchers at the lab’s scientific facilities.

The young Islip scientists, in conjunction with fellow high schoolers from Eastport-South Manor High School, are working to determine the structure of a protein that has never been resolved before: a Beta-lactamase that plays a role in antibiotic resistance.  After trying to grow the crystals themselves without success, they worked collaboratively with Dr. Scott Lovell at Kansas University. He grew the crystals with his far superior lab equipment, then shared the images with the students remotely. They selected the crystals most likely to produce good data, and Dr. Lovell shipped them to Long Island. With the help of NYX beamline scientist Dr. Kevin Battaile, students gathered data on a total of eight samples. The next step will be to use the imaging software Phenix and COOT to determine the protein structure. Islip students will be presenting their work at both the NSLSII Users Meeting and the OSSP Symposium at BNL later this spring.

Date Added: 4/9/2024