February 25, 2000

Erin Heffernan, an eighth grader at the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury, was probably the only one in her class to receive a model of the human brain last Christmas. This gift, given by her MGH mentor, Karlotta Fitch, HT, of Neuropathology, was very useful in completing her research on the brain size of humans, monkeys and rats for the annual Timilty Science Fair held Feb. 14 to 18. Heffernan was one of 540 students who presented science projects to their classmates, teachers and visiting MGH judges.

Collaboration between students and their MGH mentors for this event began last fall. The MGH mentors help their students research and collect information, but the students are responsible for choosing their topics and planning the actual design of the projects.

Kim Le, another student who participated in the MGH/Timilty mentoring program, chose to examine the effects of sensory stimulation on brain function. "I was curious to know how I could improve my test scores. For example, I wanted to know if listening to music while studying for an exam would help me get an ‘A,’" explains Le.

Rochelle Farquharson chose her topic because she was afraid that her cold medicine was not working effectively. Farquharson inspected different types of cold medicine and studied the medications that friends and family were taking. She was happy to discover that the medicines do work, but that wasn’t her favorite part of her project. "I actually liked doing the research at the hospital," says Farquharson. "I had the opportunity to meet a lot of doctors and nurses who love people and enjoy working at the MGH."

Rochelle Farquharson, right, gives cold medicine facts to science fair judge John Driscoll of MGH Police and Security during the annual Timilty Science Fair.