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28 June 2021
A Bedford Girls’ Student (BGS) has been awarded the prestigious Junior Engineering 2021 prize for her Big Bang Competition project entitled ‘DM2.Prevent’.
Year 9 student, Serena Jacob, has created an app to prevent or potentially even treat Type 2 Diabetes. The app targets reversible risk factors for the disease and provides ways to reduce those risks.
Inspired by when a close family friend was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, Serena wanted to learn more about how it could be tackled, she said: “I’m simply ecstatic to be chosen as Junior Engineer of the Year! I never thought that I could actually win this, especially as the calibre of entries was outstanding. I am really thrilled to know that all my hard work has finally paid off. I would love to thank all of those that have supported me with this project, especially the STEM Coordinator at BGS, Dr Swope, who has helped me throughout.”
Serena has undertaken extensive research and received advice and support from former BGS parent, Mrs Charlotte Lucas, during the course of the year via video conferencing. Mrs Lucas is a pharmacist and researcher with a specialty in Type 2 Diabetes prevention.
Dr Swope, Physics Teacher and STEM Coordinator said: “Serena is well deserving of this award. She has worked several hours each week since September putting together the pieces required for this app project. In the process, Serena has learned how to create and assemble app images as well as how to program and collect information from movement data with a microcontroller, and she has also furthered her programming skills in Python. Serena has also shown her resolve as a researcher and has developed a great working knowledge of Diabetes Mellitus 2.”
