This city student’s big dream is headed to the stars.
Stuyvesant High School junior Julian Rubinfien will soon travel to Cape Canaveral to see NASA launch his award-winning high school genetic experiment into space.
Julian, 16, created his ambitious experiment to measure genes in space as a way to better understand human aging with the help of his biology teacher, winning the national “Genes in Space” contest in June.
It’s heady stuff for any young researcher.
But Julian, who lives in lower Manhattan and wants to be a research scientist when he finishes school, takes a big-picture view of his cutting-edge academic work.
“The fact that it’s possible for me as a high school student to have my experiment preformed up there is incredible,” said Julian, who maintains a straight-A average and likes to sail and box in his free time.
“If you’re lucky enough as a scientist, you can reach out and become part of something that’s greater than yourself,” he added.
Julian’s award-winning study will send DNA strands to the International Space Station, where they will be copied and then returned to earth, where they will be measured in an effort to link the shortening of DNA strands to the phenomenon of premature aging experienced by astronauts in space.
The experiment was initially scheduled to launch Monday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center and travel via rocket to the International Space Station, where the experiment will be performed. But the launch was delayed after a problem was discovered with one of the rocket’s boosters. The blastoff will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
Julian’s freshman biology teacher Jessica Quenzer, who helped him conceptualize the experiment, will also travel to Kennedy Space Center for the launch.
She said Julian’s curiosity and ambition make him an exceptional student.
“Even from the very beginning he had a spark,” Quenzer said. “I could tell he would learn because he was very inquisitive and had big ideas.”
Genes in Space contest organizer Sebastian Kraves said Julian’s experiment beat out more than 300 submissions from students across the country because it explores the compelling topic of rapid aging in zero gravity.
Julian is the second winner, both from New York, of the contest that’s now in its third year. The first was a student from Bedford, N.Y., whose experiment sent zebrafish DNA to space to study gene replication in April.
“Accelerated aging is one of the things we worry about when we travel to space,” said Kraves, a co-founder of the genetic testing company miniPCR, which is a sponsor of the contest.
Signs of accelerated aging include decreased bone mass, slowing cardiovascular functioning and weakening of the immune system.
“Julian is studying a very interesting problem,” Kraves said.
