Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all who participated. Happy DNA Day!
2022 Question
The “Father of Genetics,” Gregor Mendel, was born 200 years ago in northern Moravia (now Czechia). His experiments with pea plants led to observations and conclusions that became fundamental principles of genetic inheritance. These principles include: 1) Each organism has two versions (or alleles) of each gene; 2) One allele is inherited from the mother, and one allele is inherited from the father; 3) Alleles can be dominant or recessive; 4) Genes for different traits are inherited independently from each other. Because of Mendel’s contributions, traits and disorders that are caused by variation in one gene (For Example, Huntington’s disease, Cystic fibrosis) are called Mendelian traits or disorders. There are also complex traits and disorders (For Example, diabetes, hypertension) that are caused by variation in many genes and, often, environmental factors.
- How do Mendel’s discoveries help us understand Mendelian disorders?
- How does the study of Mendelian disorders help us understand complex diseases?
2022 Winners
1st Place: Man Tak Mindy Shie, Grade 12
Teacher: Dr. Siew Hwey Alice Tan
School: Singapore International School (Hong Kong)
Location: Hong Kong, China
2nd Place: Gillian Wells, Grade 11
Teacher: Mrs. Rebecca Hodgson
School: Ulverston Victoria High School
Location: Ulverston, England, UK
3rd Place: Yiyang Zhang, Grade 11
Teacher: Dr. Qiongyu Zeng
School: Shanghai High School International Division
Location: Shanghai, China
Honorable Mentions
| Lena Chae Glenbrook South High School Glenview, Illinois Teacher: Mrs. Marianne Gudmundsson |
Aadit Jain International Academy Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Teacher: Mrs. Suzanne Monck |
| Sharanya Ravishanker Conestoga High School Berwyn, Pennsylvania Teacher: Mrs. Liz Gallo |
Zhiyuan Shi BASIS International School Hangzhou Hangzhou, China Teacher: Dr. Dongchen Xu |
| Audric Thakur Reading School Reading, United Kingdom Teacher: Ms. Francis Howson |
Emma Tse Cheltenham Ladies’ College Cheltenham, United Kingdom Teacher: Ms. Helen Stuart |
| Hannah Wilson Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School Lower Hutt, New Zealand Teacher: Ms. Sarah McKenzie |
Emma Youngblood St. John Paul the Great Catholic High School Dumfries, virginia Teacher: Dr. Clare Kuisell |
| Vivian Yuan Ridgewood High School Ridgewood, New Jersey Teacher: Mr. Ryan Van Treuren |
Xinyi Zhang South Brunswick High School Monmouth Junction, New Jersey Teacher: Ms. Jessica Pagone |
Where in the world our submissions come from:
About the Contest
The contest aims to challenge students to examine, question, and reflect on important ideas and issues related to human genetics. Competitive essays are expected to convey substantive, well-reasoned, and evidence-based arguments that demonstrate deep understanding.
Essays are evaluated through three rounds of judging, and every essay is read by a minimum of three judges. Top-scoring essays have typically been scored by a dozen or more judges.
Read the 2022 DNA Day Essay Contest Announcement Press Release.
Questions/Comments: Contact dnaday@ashg.org