When Jonathan Williams ’21 first arrived on Pine Crest’s Fort Lauderdale campus in the ninth grade, his classmates and teachers quickly realized that they had a superstar among them.
Described as a brilliant and amazing human being with a passion for life, Jonathan took advantage of every opportunity offered to him over the course of four years. He was an active member of the Technology Students Association and the Black Students Association, and he volunteered more than 250 hours to The Boys and Girls Clubs through “Chess, not Checkers,” which he created to teach weekly chess sessions to primarily Black elementary school children. During his senior year, Jonathan played basketball with Pine Crest’s state-champion varsity basketball team.
Perhaps best known for his accomplishments in science research, Jonathan’s primary research topic was near and dear to his heart. In 2013, an 11-year-old who was a player on Jonathan’s youth ice hockey team was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing what his teammate was going through, Jonathan became interested in attacking cancer from a mathematical basis as opposed to a biological one. Grateful to have been introduced to calculus early enough in his Pine Crest career to apply concepts to his research, he believes calculus is capable of “describing complex phenomena such as tumor progression” and that “mathematics holds untapped potential for treating cancer patients. While novel drugs often take years to progress through necessary clinical trials before they are administered at large, mathematical models can be readily refined and retweaked to treat patients.”
Jonathan credits Pine Crest Biology and Science Research Teacher Ms. Jennifer Gordinier for teaching him to read technical research papers, and communicate high-level information and findings to general audiences.
“Pine Crest’s curriculum provided me with a firm academic foundation that helped me leverage knowledge to tackle real-world problems,” said Jonathan. “Courses such as Advanced Placement English Language equipped me with the skills to analyze text and identify an argument, which are both relevant to science research.”
Throughout his time in Pine Crest’s science research program, Jonathan secured several research internships. As a sophomore, he was selected by Dr. Abdullah Sarkar to work at the Holy Cross Hospital as a research assistant on his cardiac imaging project. Jonathan presented his research at the South Florida Cardiac Conference and won second prize in a competition against college students.
He then received the Richard O. Jacobson IMO Scholarship, a paid mathematical oncology summer research internship, at the Moffitt Cancer Center. While at Moffitt, Jonathan was able to “construct a novel mathematical model of the pharmacokinetics of orally-administered chemotherapies,” he said. “I was further able to apply my model to optimize the treatment scheduling for panobinostat, which is a chemotherapy used to treat multiple myeloma.” Jonathan presented this research at the national Sigma XI Research Conference where, because of the ingenuity and the tangible benefit of his work, he placed first in the high school division of mathematics and computer science.
Last summer, Jonathan worked as a paid research intern for The Zervantonakis lab at the University of Pittsburgh. There, he constructed a model of HER2+ breast cancer to
elucidate mechanisms of fibroblast protection from Lapatinib. He extended his model and simulated how combination drug therapies would kill the cancer cells. One of his simulations reinforced previously published results.
Leaving a lasting legacy on the Pine Crest community, Jonathan is highly respected by his classmates and faculty, and he sets an example for those to follow.
When asked for his advice to incoming freshmen, Jonathan said, “Attend extra help, and build deep relationships with your teachers. Pine Crest teachers are students’ biggest supporters, and they want to see you succeed.”
He plans to attend Stanford University in the fall to study applied mathematics and computer science. His teachers and classmates have no doubt that Jonathan will continue to conquer new heights!