Magnetic Appeal

By PAUL CATALA Tribune correspondent

Published: Sep 7, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - There are several things in Joshua Hammer's life that gets him fired up and among them are playing piano, trombone and drums and running track or playing soccer.

Yet there's another area that raises the enthusiasm level for the 14-year-old Zephyrhills High School freshman: the effect of magnetism on CD4 helper T-cells.

It's not a subject you would be likely to hear in the mall or at the skate park, but the study of this human protein and its use for fighting HIV/AIDS fascinates Hammer.

It has drawn so much of his interest that he has spent about two years studying it and is now a semifinalist for the Discovery Channel's America's Top Young Scientist title.

Sitting recently in a room at Centennial Middle School, where he attended last year before moving on to Zephyrhills, Hammer and his parents, Donald and Cindy Hammer, discussed the recognition and his penchant for research.

A quiet teenager, Hammer said he became interested in studying CD4 helper cells and biomagnetism while an eighth-grader in Laraine Stovall's Centennial science class. Biomagnetism is the study of how magnetic fields interact and affect organisms and CD4 is a protein that is the main receptor for HIV/AIDS.

The purpose of Hammer's experiment was to see how magnetism affects an organism's immune system, specifically the T helper cell that plays an important role in establishing and maximizing the capabilities of the body's immune system.

It's a heaping handful of study, the teen acknowledged, but something that's piqued his interest.

Eventually, Hammer said, he thinks CD4 could be used to slow the progression of HIV/AIDS and help the body's defense.

Biomagnetism is "one of the fields that a lot of people don't recognize as being helpful. Once you do some study, you can see that magnets can affect different body systems," he said.

His drive and research have been so focused that after his parents wrote the University of South Florida about his study, an associate professor took him under her wing to help guide the research.

Alison Willing, associate professor of neurosurgery at the USF Health Center for Aging, has helped with Hammer's studies during the past two years. A researcher in neuroscience for about 20 years, she said his drive led her to lend her expertise to his project, and it was the second major study she's worked on with him.

Joshua said he began studying the CD4 proteins after Willing told him to research T-cells, and he came across them. He said the cells function as the main protein involved in the virus was interesting and his studies grew from there.

"The thing that makes him so enjoyable to work with is his enthusiasm about everything," she said. "Whatever he sets his mind on, he can accomplish."

What Hammer, his teachers and parents are hoping he'll accomplish is becoming a finalist in the Young Scientist Challenge.

So far, 400 middle school students from 44 states - 37 from Florida - have been selected. With a focus on the environment and sustainable development, the 40 students who go on as finalists will work on teams with Earth's environmental challenges, called Operating Green, and a winner will be picked in Oct. 21-24 in Washington.

According to the Discovery Channel, the contest identifies and honors those who 'best demonstrate leadership, teamwork, scientific problem-solving and the ability to be an effective science communicator."

In Washington, the students will compete for more than $100,000 in scholarships, prizes and the title of America's Top Young Scientist of the Year.

Although that would be "really neat," Hammer said just the experience of participating would be enough of a prize for him.

On Wednesday, he will find out if he made the final 40 and the trip to Washington to take part in a series of team-based, interactive challenges based on the environmental theme.