Amelie is a rising senior at Edmonds-Woodway High School in Edmonds, Washington, en route to receiving the IB diploma at graduation in 2024. She aspires to encourage an environmentally sustainable future through an interdisciplinary approach of biotechnology, economics, and social studies. These subjects interest her due to their potential to drive a collective understanding and expression of diverse values of nature that may benefit quality of livelihood and sustainability in various societies. A current expression of this is her role as the president of the Students Saving Salmon Club, where she conducts research on local salmon streams and promotes environmental education, protection/restoration, & City of Edmonds outreach.
Amelie also loves the arts and plays the alto saxophone in the EWHS Wind Symphony, additionally engaging with the broader music community as vice president of Tri-Music honor society. You’ll typically find her listening to music, caring for houseplants, hiking in nature, watching nature/history/animated shows, or socializing with friends. She loves to learn and find new perspectives, so feel free to reach out and discuss an idea with her!
Meet the plants!
At ISB, Amelie had the opportunity to work on a project relevant to the resilience of diatoms (microalgae) in predicted future acidified oceans conditions. Along with mentors Drs. Jake Valenzuela and Chris Deutsch, Amelie and her partner Selin Filiz piloted a reverse-transcription quantitative-PCR or RT-qPCR assay for model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana carbon-state biomarkers antiporter 262258 and carbonic anhydrase 233 with actin 260856 as an internal reference gene. In predicted future acidified ocean conditions, these biomarkers could be used as an early warning sign that oceanic ecosystems are changing due to rising CO₂ levels.
