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19 November 2021
A budding biochemist at Monmouth School for Girls has been recognised in a national essay competition.
Jodie Tang, in Year 13, achieved third place in the Medicine and Life Sciences category of the TechFest essay competition, STEM Next.
Jodie studies Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths at A level and has maintained a very keen interest in Biology, despite not taking the subject in Sixth Form.
During the summer holidays, Jodie immersed herself in Biology and spent more than 70 hours and read around 60 books – tackling her 5,000-word essay.
She answered the essay question: In recent years, what advancements have been made in the field of genomics? How has this affected medical research? What are the advantages and disadvantages of individualised medicine?
In her outstanding piece of research, Jodie wrote about, among other areas, the structure of DNA, gene sequencing, human genome project, personalised medicine and the use of personalised medicine in cancer diagnosis.
Jodie, who is applying to read Biochemistry at Imperial College London, delighted the Head of Science at Monmouth School for Girls, Miss Linda Woodburn, with her work.
TechFest is an innovative charity, which provides Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) events and promotes these activities to young people and the wider community.
And the 18-year-old, who lives in Monmouth, will be now submitting her research essay on genomics for a Gold Crest award.
Jodie said: “Advancement in the field of genomics has been made with the development new sequencing techniques, which enabled scientist to sequence the whole human genome.
“Through doing genetic tests, individuals are able to get preventive measures against developing certain diseases.
“With the development in medical research, cancer patients are able to receive personalised care, which can result reduce side effects and treatment time.”
Jodie added: “In the future, better testing systems can be made to analysis and identify more biomarkers in a shorter space of time, allowing patient to receive a more precise treatment for cancer and a longer life span.”
