A Richmond County School System student has received a full ride scholarship to the California Institute of Technology – a private university focused on science and engineering programs with a mere 3% acceptance rate.
John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School’s Amarri Robinson beat the odds thanks to his longtime passion for science, which has led him to engage in several research projects all before graduation.
Robinson hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in biological engineering, with the goal of becoming a research scientist in an academic university.
“I’m feeling really, really good about it,” he said about his full ride. “I’m mostly feeling grateful. The combination of my friends, my second family here at Davidson, have been profoundly influential.”
Researching cures for antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Robinson shared with the Augusta Press a snapshot of some of the research work he’s been able to do.
At a summer science program at Indiana University, Robinson was able to do research on antibiotic-resistant bacteria. He and his lab mates took a bacteria culture and slowly accustomed it to increasing doses of antibiotics.
“Basically, over time, the bacteria got a lot more resistant. And this replicates what happens, like, in our bodies. When people start taking antibiotics but they don’t finish them, the bacteria gets slightly more resistant, and so when they spread that bacteria to someone else, traditional antibiotics might not work,” he said. “So what we did is we used a very specialized treatment to treat those superbugs, or, very, very resistant bacteria.”
Robinson later worked with Dr. Iain Duffy under the Sea Phage collaborative group to do research with Bacteriophages – viruses that do not affect humans but rather, affect bacteria. His research focused around how bacteriophages can be used as a cure for antibiotic-resistant bacteria like the superbugs he studied in Indiana.
“In the age of antibiotic resistance, where so many superbugs are popping up and our traditional treatments aren’t working, bacteriophages are kind of a newfound solution,” he said.
Where it all began
Robinson came into possession of a microbiology textbook while he was in the sixth grade; This book would change the trajectory of his life.
“I still have it in my room…Scrolling through the pages and seeing the differing images and procedures and cellular metabolic processes was really fascinating to me…and that kind of motivated me to get into more basic levels of research, like using my microscope that I got for a birthday…doing more research and reading on my own,” he said. “And then in high school, applying for programs and reaching out to professors, to try to get inside of actual labs.”
Support at Davidson
Davidson is a fine arts school, and although Robinson appreciates the arts – he plays the saxophone – his true passion lies in science and math. “Every single teacher at Davidson has been more than amicable about supporting my specific passion, despite them not specifically lending toward this school’s direct mission,” he said.
He recounted that his sophomore AP Biology teacher allowed him to collect water samples from the Augusta Canal, which passes by the school, and bring them back into the classroom where he would examine what he collected and catalog whatever cells or bacteria he would find.
Other teachers provided Robinson with books to aid in his studying for the U.S. National Biology Olympiad and the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad.
“What usually, typically would have cost, you know, $500 in preparation when it comes to books and courses, they made it free for me,” he said.
In the chemistry Olympiad, Robinson was able to reach the finalist level.
Robinson pointed out several teachers who he wanted to thank specifically. These are Lisa Brown, Faith Huntington, Sierra Mannix, Juliana Taylor and school 10th-12th grade counselor Elizabeth Schow.
“They’ve really embraced my passions and they’ve been, not only in class but outside of the classroom, they’ve been really supportive when it comes to building me up,” he said.
