OAKHURST – Yosemite High School student Kenny Jeffris will be taking on a sought-after internship this summer at Fresno State.
Jeffris will be a senior during the 2013-14 academic year, and plans to work with Dr. Jason Bush on pancreatic cancer markers starting later this month.
“It is the Summer Biomedical Research Internship with University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in Fresno, where I will be working with a researcher from UCSF,” Jeffris says.“I put in my application, and then I went to a group interview where a few others and I were selected.”
The UCSF Fresno Summer Biomedical Research Internship program was established to provide a quality biomedical research experience for high school students in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
The program matches students currently between their junior and senior year, with faculty members who have or are developing a research project. Students are chosen each year based on their scholastic abilities.
Dr. Bush received a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and has a broad background in cancer biology and biological research on cancer cell models. As an assistant professor at Fresno State, his research includes work with cell models such as pancreatic and ovarian cancer.
The UCSF Fresno building is located next to the Community Regional Hospital in Fresno, and Jeffris’ internship under Dr. Bush is expected to last about 6 weeks.
Looking forward to the summer program, Jeffris is no stranger to hard work.
“I am currently enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at my school,” explains Jeffris of his interests. “The IB program is similar to a worldwide Advanced Placement program, and if completed, you can get what is known as an IB diploma.”
The 16-year-old Oakhurst resident has classes which currently include IB studies in English, Biology, Math, History, Spanish 4 and Psychology. Jeffris also performs in the wind ensemble for the YHS band.
Also a participant in YHS Academic Pentathlon and a Boy Scout with Troop 316, Jeffris is a member of Key Club and Interact, and was recently voted to be next year’s California Scholarship Federation president.
Jeffris will graduate in 2014 and go on to college with the intention to study “something in the biological sciences.”
