Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

hi everyone! for months now, I have been doing private research on a potential cure to Alzheimer's disease, and I have been trying and trying to get a local mentor from a university. i have sent out about 40 emails, but everyone says they are not accepting students.

my dream has always been to enter the intel/siemens science competition. i don't have a mentor though... and i think that my project would be really difficult to do without a mentor.. should i actually create a presentation and go to the professors' offices and present my idea to them?

here is my research question: "How does the use of small, interfering RNA (siRNA) act as a therapeutic potential in silencing the mutational alleles of Alzheimer's disease?"

a bit hard to that without a mentor, no? well, please help!!!!

Hi,

Science Buddies has some great resources on advanced projects--see the advanced project guide on this page: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... l?From=Tab .

Since I am not in that particular field of research, it is somewhat difficult for me to tell what may be going on. University professors are busy, and they receive many requests like yours. Taking on a high school student is typically a lot of work, but they get very little credit for doing so.

You say you have sent out 40 e-mails...have all 40 been to professors studying Alzheimer's? If you are sending them to other professors, they are unlikely to have the tools and expertise necessary for you to do the research you want to do. Also, have you taken the time to read their research, to see what it is that they are interested in? Generally, professors respond much more positively if they know that you are interested in the same things that interest them.