Gunter Blobel, 1999 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology/Medicine and Pioneer in Protein Targeting Within/out of the CellMichael Vishnevetsky is no stranger to science and scientists. His great grandfather was a chemical engineer and his grandfather was also an engineer. Both of his parents were born in the Ukraine, and after his mother immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 13, she attended Long Island University and became a pharmacist. He says that his family has been a tremendous source of love and support for him. "My entire family has served as an inspiration to me – they overcame the oppression of the anti-Semitic communist government, and they have thrived in this great country," he said. Michael says "his insatiable curiosity and will to learn" led him to concentrate in the sciences. His interest in medicine led him to volunteer at Coney Island Hospital since his freshman year. "I have been a VNA (Volunteer Nurse Aid), and taken part in many of the spectacular courses that the staff offers there," he said, mentioning pediatrics, heart physiology, CPR/First Aid, and the operating room. His knowledge of Russian also helped him serve as translator between Russian patients and doctors. To indulge what he calls his "scientific appetite," he enjoys studying astrophysics in his spare time. In the 9th and 10th grades, he won prizes for his elaborate science fair projects. Last summer, he took an introductory biology course at Harvard University’s Secondary School Program. Surrounded by college students, he felt "amazed by all that I had learned." Earlier this year, he and 30 other students began doing research at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn under the guidance of Dr. Josef Michl. "Dr. Michl has inspired me – through him I have learned of the fulfillment that science can bring me," he said. Dr. Michl told his young student about his good friend, Gunter Blobel, the 1999 Nobel Prize Laureate for Medicine/Physiology. "He told me about Dr. Blobel’s many contributions to science and philanthropy. My interest was immediately stirred," Michael recalls. When the teacher of his research class at Midwood High School asked the class to write an essay about a Nobel Laureate, Dr. Blobel’s name immediately leaped to his mind. Michael says he was inspired by Dr. Blobel’s unwavering dedication to science. "I was proud that I could honor this man," he says. However, Michael is no ordinary science geek, content to stay indoors nestled among piles of books and computers. Since the 9th and 10th grades, he has been an outfielder for the Midwood JV Baseball Team, and a wrestler on the Midwood Varsity team. He is also a member of various school clubs, specifically film and the bio-med society. His interest in astrophysics is such that he even hopes to help start a club about this subject for the coming year. When he heard that he had won the contest, he was "ecstatic. My parents were in disbelief. After the reality set in, they were thrilled. We were so jubilant that we woke the neighbors."Photo: Michael Vishnevetsky receiving prize from Ambassador Kjell Anneling, Consul General of Sweden in New York, on June 13, 2005 © Catarina Lundgren Åström