Guides · ISEF category
Biochemistry
ISEF category BCHM · difficulty for high-school students: high
Chemistry of biological systems: enzyme kinetics, metabolic pathways, protein structure-function, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids. Includes both in vitro assays and computational molecular modeling.
How it's judged
ISEF scores 100 points across five criteria:
- Creative Ability: 30 pts
- Scientific Thought: 30 pts
- Thoroughness: 15 pts
- Skill: 15 pts
- Clarity: 10 pts
What wins
- Enzyme inhibition kinetics with natural compound extracts (Km/Vmax characterization)
- Protein interaction studies using yeast two-hybrid or co-IP
- Metabolomics profiling comparing two conditions using LC-MS (university lab access needed)
- In silico molecular docking to screen compounds + experimental validation of top hits
Common mistakes
- Running Western blots without proper loading controls
- Reporting IC50 without confidence intervals
- Not running experiments in biological triplicate (technical replicates don't substitute)
- Using colorimetric assays without a standard curve
What you'll need
Spectrophotometer, centrifuge, pipettes (micropipette set), refrigerator/freezer, basic wet lab chemicals. Protein work requires gel electrophoresis equipment. Advanced work requires university access.
Ethics & approvals
Human-subjects (IRB) approval is usually not required for this category. Vertebrate-animal (IACUC) approval is usually not required.
The novelty bar
A novel substrate, inhibitor, or condition applied to a characterized enzyme system — or a novel enzyme from an unstudied organism. Redoing a textbook enzyme experiment is not competitive.
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