66th Annual STS (2006-2007)
Finalists
Jimmy Hom

NEW YORK
Jimmy Hom, 18, of Syosset, studied the role of ring canals and the macrophage receptors (proteins) Croquemort (CRQ) and Draper (drpr) in recognition and clearance of dead oocytes (immature eggs) from the ovaries of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) for his Intel Science Talent Search project in zoology. Jimmy starved fruit flies to trigger oocyte apoptosis (programmed cell death), dissected the flies' ovaries and studied the concentration of CRQ and drpr. He found that CRQ increased in expression but drpr did not, and that flies without drpr were sterile. He concluded that these proteins helped follicle cells engulf and clear dead oocytes. He also found that ring canals, which transfer material from nurse cells to oocytes, closed and deteriorated during oocyte death. Jimmy attends Syosset High School where he is editor-in-chief of the yearbook and is active in Model Congress and the Latin Honor Society. A cello student at Juilliard, he has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Jimmy volunteers with the Helen Keller National Center for the Deaf and Blind. He plans to attend Harvard or Yale and become an obstetrician or cardio-thoracic surgeon. He is the son of Chung and Soona Hom.