EDUCATION:

Singapore international School (SIS), Mumbai, India                                                         

-- In 12th grade. Will appear for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Examination at the end of Grade 12, in May 2022.        

-- Cleared IGCSE Examination – Grade 10.

-- In SIS from 6th to 12th grade.

2022

2020

2015-22

STATUTORY TESTS:

TOEFL Test: Total Score- 109.

2021

ACADEMIC HONOURS:

-- Predicted grade of 41/42 for IB.

-- Predicted 7/7 in IB in Biology, Chemistry, Math, English and Psychology.

-- Ranked in top 3 amongst 100 students in subjects taken.

-- In consideration for Chairman’s Academic Excellence Scholarship by school, for 11th grade performance.

-- Awarded Honors Certificate for Academic performance in Grade 11.

-- Awarded the ‘International Certificate of Education with Distinction’ by Cambridge Assessment International Education.

-- Secured first place in the International Science Project contest, organized by Scire Science Pvt Ltd.

RESEARCH in BIOLOGY:

Designing an accurate insulin pump: Under the guidance of Dr. Sanjay Sonar, Ph.D., IIT Mumbai, MIT USA, Boston University, MD of Biogenomics Ltd.

-- The objective was to design a new and efficient close-loop insulin pump mimicking the pancreas, to pump insulin continuously and accurately to keep the diabetic patient euglycemic.

-- The pump will have next-generation features such as auto-upgradability, disease-treatment tracking and personalization.

-- The pump will increase the user’s quality of life better than that experienced by the usage of the pre-existing models.

-- Learnt about the process of making insulin in laboratories using recombinant DNA technology, explored the constant regulation of the blood sugar by hormones (specifically insulin) and about the various methods of injecting insulin in the human body, different insulin pump designs and the shortcomings of the current methods and pumps.

-- Developed algorithms and software program in Python to operate the pump.

Research in Cancer: Analyzing and addressing the high fatality rate of 98% due to cancer, in women in India.

-- Learnt research and to assimilate the findings in varied subject areas- biology of the disease, demographics, and statistics.

-- The main reason for the high fatality rate was the abysmal rate of early detection.

-- It was due to facilities to conduct diagnosis not available in towns and villages, the cost of diagnosis is unaffordable for the poor, and women cannot talk about the symptoms with men in the patriarchal society.

-- If detected early, not only is the cost of treatment very low, but the chances of survival are very high (over 90%).

-- Unfortunately, though the fatalities are higher than covid-19 and other prevalent diseases in India, cancer in women is not the government’s priority.

-- The paper provides an innovative solution to the government to get all women to undergo regular examination for free, by providing mobile diagnosis facility to cover villages and towns, the cost of which pales in comparison to the budget allocated to covid care, polio or tuberculosis eradication programs.

-- It concludes by seeking to make early diagnosis an executive responsibility of the government. 

June ‘20 - July ‘21

2019-20

CANCER OUTREACH INITIATIVE based on Academics:

Website- PINK HOPE- A project designed and built by me, to increase awareness about breast cancer amongst women, especially teenagers. Website- www.pinkhope.xyz 

-- The fatality rate in women due to cancer, in India, is the significantly higher (98%) than the western world (10%). This is due to poor awareness of cancer and its early symptoms, and women in the towns and villages not being able to speak out about their physical problems to men.

-- The vast prevalence of internet and smart phones provides an opportunity to spread awareness to all women in India.

-- The website provides information about cancer, its manifestations, stages of cancer and the costs of treatment at various stages. It has interviews of cancer survivors to provide guidance and hope to the patients. It lists resources that can be used by women and their families for treatment, psychological support, NGOs who help free of cost and doctors who have volunteered to provide guidance.

-- Prepared a booklet to guide teenagers about cancers, its early symptoms, and actions thereof.

2020-21

LEADERSHIP POSITIONS:

Led the initiative PINK HOPE- to lead a team to build a website to create awareness about breast cancer.

--Managed work from the team members in various areas of the project, such as marketing, content, interviews and gathering resources. Distributed responsibilities and took regular reviews to ensure work was completed.

In the School Council, as House Captain.

--Lead students of my House (PGA Tour), in various grades, in preparation and participation in various events in school such as drama, speech, quizzes, sports etc.

Head of photography for "Connexion", the monthly newsletter of my school (SIS). Was in the photography team in the Singapore International School MUN in 2019 and 2021.

2020-21

2020-21

2019-21

BIOSCIENCES EXPERIENCES:

Completed a 50-hour internship Under the guidance of Dr Archana Krishnan (Ph.D.), Head of the Research Department of Biogenomics Ltd, a leader in India in research in genetics.

-- The main objective of this laboratory internship was to have a better understanding of the knowledge, concepts and processes involved in cloning.

-- It was to be cognizant of how biotechnology and microbiology are implemented together in laboratories.

-- I learnt the protocols and steps taken to clone a human gene, learnt lab practical skills; beyond what is taught to us in school and in our textbooks.

-- It gave me glimpse of real-life situations of the working world and into how professionals take decisions, very different from the school environment. I learnt to interact with people in a professional setting, which is different from discussions with teachers or fellow students.

-- Received a Certificate of Completion of internship from Dr Archana Krishnan, Head of Research.

Completed a 50-hour internship in an ENT Clinic, under the guidance of Dr Ashesh Bhumkar, MD, leading ENT specialist in India.

-- I am interested in medicine as a career. The main objective of this shadowing experience was to have a realistic understanding of what medicine can and can't do and to witness first-hand what becoming a doctor is about.

-- Achieved a fair understanding of diagnosis, the treatment procedures and administration.

-- Observed the doctor patient relationship.

-- Learned about the anatomy of the ear, nose and throat and the various diseases and problems in these organs.

-- Got introduced to different specialties and medical environments.

-- Worked in the front office to understand the OPD patient management and learnt how a hospital operates.

-- Received a Certificate of Completion of internship from Dr Ashesh Bhumkar.

2021

2018

COURSES COMPLETED, outside the IB curriculum (all certification courses):

Completion certificates available on www.sarahkothekar.com 

-- Introduction to Breast Cancer- Yale University.

-- Introduction to Biology of Cancer- Johns Hopkins University.

-- DNA: Biology’s Genetic Code- Rice University.

-- Microbiology- Bacteria and Chronic Infections- University of Copenhagen.

-- Introduction Course on Biotechnology- on Udemy.

-- Python Programming- on Udemy.

2019-21

COMMUNITY OUTREACH:

AWAS (Animal Welfare Awareness Society). www.awasindia.weebly.com. AWAS is a student- led organization that focuses on spreading awareness about issues concerning animal welfare, especially street dogs.

-- I am the Creative Director. I manage the Instagram account (awas_india), which has 2,000 followers and 130 posts.

-- Volunteered to work on the streets as well.

2020-21

RESEARCH in IB CURICULLUM: (Includes Extended Essay and Internal Assessments):

Extended Essay in Biology, in IB- research and experimenting on the topic “The effect of the antioxidant Vitamin C on the growth and productivity of Lens culinaris Medick under salinity stress generated by NaCl”

-- Conducted experiments to check the impact of the extent of salinity on chlorophyll generation and thereby the growth

-- Investigated how the addition of Vitamin C in the soil reduces the impact of salinization.

Internal Assessments (IA) in IB:

-- Psychology: Conducted a study with high school students to replicate the “The Halo Effect,” a cognitive bias presented by Nisbett and Wilson, which indicates the human tendency to classify other unknown qualities of a person based on first impression of some positive or negative characteristics.

-- Biology: What is the effect of Wi-Fi radiation on the growth of Pisum sativum, Brassica oleracea var. Italica, Lepidium sativum, Triticum aestivum. 

-- Chemistry: At what temperature is the Haber's process reaction the most efficient in terms of the concentration of product formed and the rate of reaction for industrially manufacturing gaseous NH3.

-- Math: To construct a 12 hour-horizontal sundial to determine the time of day and year, from Mumbai, by tracing patterns and movements of the sun, using geometry, trigonometry, and graphs.

2020-21

RESEARCH IN SOCIETAL CHALLENGES:

Wrote a research paper titled- “The proliferation of social media and internet- where should the line be drawn?”

-- The research explored the benefits and evils of the use by subscribers of the open, free and unhindered social media and the digital surveillance by govts, on individuals, society and nation.

-- Though conflicting, there are valid reasons for the needs of the social media companies collecting data of subscribers and the surveillance by governments, and the opposition of the subscribers for the same.

-- I suggested solutions to balance the needs of both, to create safe living.

A critical note on a news report opposing Neoliberalism.

-- Explored the conflict of the need to privatize essential services to the population of the country such as rail, gas, electricity etc. for achieving higher efficiencies and the negative impact of the increase in prices of these services, especially for the poor, as the companies will want to increase their profits.

2019-20

2019

MUN and ROUNDSQUARE CONFERENCES:

-- Participated as delegate in MUN for 4 years since 2016.

-- Participated as a delegate in Round Square.

-- Participated in TAUP MUN.

2016-19

2017

2018

SPORTS - SWIMMING

-- Secured first place in freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly events in District Swimming Organization Championships.

2018

MUSIC AND DRAMA:

-- Playing and learning Piano since 2016. Cleared Grade 5 by Trinity College London Piano Music Performance. Appearing      for Grade 7 in Piano Performance in May 2022.

-- Cleared Grade 5 Theory of Music of Trinity College London.

-- Cleared Grade 3 in Group Drama of Trinity College London.

-- Cleared Grade 2 in Individual Acting of Trinity College London.

2016-21

2016-19

OTHER INTERESTS:

-- Reading -- fiction by Dan Brown, Robin Cook; books by renowned doctors, magazines- Time, New Scientist, NYT.

-- I am an active fitness enthusiast.

-- Culinary- I explore and cook new dishes in Japanese and Korean Cuisines.

-- Like to visit offbeat places.

-- I watch TV series- Dr House, Grey’s Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory, Gossip Girl, Korean Series, amongst others.