Of 96 aspiring student scientists who attended the University of Missouri-St. Louis STARS program this summer, Oakville High School student Preethi Tumati is one of 32 students receiving special recognition for their outstanding research presentations.
The Partnership of Research Institution’s Award for Excellence in Research is being presented to Preethi and other outstanding participants after presenting their research papers to peers, parents and project mentors, according to a news release.
Preethi’s paper was titled “Response variability to behavioral stress is not exaggerated in borderline hypertensive rats.”
Her research mentor was Dr. Mark Knuepfer of St. Louis University.
The scientific papers are the end product of six weeks of participation in UMSL’s pre-collegiate Students and Teachers As Research Scientists program, which pairs high school students with prominent area scientists to conduct undergraduate-level research projects.
Research papers were reviewed by a panel of experts from Monsanto, Confluence Life Science, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The reviewers looked for overall quality based on standards the scientific community uses to determine worthiness for formal publications.