Nov. 7, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- ATLANTA, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Research projects in the areas of Biochemistry and Computer Science scored top marks this evening, as Lanair Lett of Henderson, North Carolina and the team of Neil Shah and Katie Shpanskaya of Greensboro and Raleigh, North Carolina respectively, received the highest honors at the Region Six Finals of the 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation's premier high school science competition.

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Tonight's winners will receive thousands of dollars in college scholarships and be invited to compete at the National Finals in New York City from December 3-7, where the winners of the six regional competitions across the United States will vie for scholarships ranging from $10,000 to the grand prize of $100,000. The Siemens Competition, a signature program of the Siemens Foundation, is administered by the College Board.

"These students have just earned their place among the nation's greatest high school scientists," said James Whaley, President of the Siemens Foundation, based in Iselin, New Jersey. "Each year, the students' work becomes more impressive, and in a record-setting year such as this one, their achievements become even more outstanding. We are proud to welcome them into our family of Siemens Scholars and look forward to their participation at the national finals in New York City."

The students presented their research this weekend to a panel of judges from the Georgia Institute of Technology, host of the Siemens Competition Region Six Finals.

Individual Winner

Lanair Lett, a senior at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) in Durham, North Carolina won the individual category and a $3,000 college scholarship for his biochemistry project. He examined a specific protein's potential for improving therapeutic methods for treating diabetes. Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death in America - affecting millions of people each year - though its symptoms often lead to a manifestation into five of the top ten causes, such as heart disease. The research aimed to optimize treatments for diabetes, through a better understanding of Beta cell growth. The title of the project is Histone Deacetylase 1 (HDAC-1) Increases B-cell Proliferation in 832/13 B-Cells and Primary Rat Islets.

"In his project on diabetes, Mr. Lett demonstrated his systematic approach to examine the biochemical role of a key protein called HDAC-1 in modulating the growth of cells that could be used in transplantation therapy," said Dr. Raquel Lieberman, Assistant Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Mr. Lett visibly shows passion and clear vision, two of the most important research characteristics in scientific research," noted Dr. Yuhong Fan, Assistant Professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, "The level of knowledge he demonstrated about the subject's past research, and supporting materials is easily on a graduate level," she added.

Mr. Lett suffers from diabetes himself, as does his mother and grandmother, and it was this personal experience that inspired him to conduct research pertaining to the disease. He considers his grandmother - who runs a 24-hr daycare, Nana's Nest, in Youngstown, Ohio - as his personal hero, because to him she is the epitome of self-sacrifice and dedication. This is Mr. Lett's first research competition, and his dream job would be to work as a medical doctor while doing research involving metabolism and bioenergetics.

Mr. Lett serves as the lifestyles editor of The Stentorian, his school newspaper. He was most recently representing his school on the Regional Science Bowl team, which won second place. Mr.