BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

A New Jersey teen who as a high school senior earned top honors at the 2011 International Biology Olympiad was honored yesterday by New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and BioNJ President Debbie Hart at a special ceremony here during the worlds largest annual biotechnology conference.

Rebecca Shi, a 2011 graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, is the first U.S. female team member to take top honors in the world in individual scores at the long-running Olympiad, where 58 other nations sent teams to compete. Team USA 2011, comprised of Rebecca and three other high school seniors from around the U.S., also placed first in the team competition and collected four gold medals in practical assessments and theory.

Its such a great honor to be recognized by such accomplished professionals in the industry, Ms. Shi said in an interview last week from Purdue University, where she was helping high school seniors from around the country prepare for this years Olympiad.

Rebecca, who goes by Becky, was presented with a BioNJ Special Achievement Award by New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Guadagno and BioNJ President Debbie Hart at the New Jersey Pavilion during Biotechnology Industry Organizations International Convention in Boston.

Congratulations to Becky for her significant accomplishments at the Biology Olympiad, and the inspiration she provides our state and our nations future scholars and scientists through her hard work, educational achievement and dedication to helping others, said Lt. Governor Guadagno. It is the depth of quality and committed talent from our young scholars like Becky to a host of globally renowned bio scientists that make New Jersey the innovation state and ideal place to locate and grow biotech companies.

BioNJ President Debbie Hart offered her congratulations to Rebecca and said she takes particular pride that a state known for its biocluster also produced the worlds top high school senior in biology last year.

Its terrific to see one of our own students excelling in this exciting and still-emerging field, said Hart. Biotech offers so many people so much through promise of new medicines and other advances and its heartening to see such very bright young people like Becky coming up who will continue to move our industry forward.

The McClean Va.-based non-profit Center for Excellence in Education co-sponsors the U.S. Biology Olympiad (USABO) and Team USA with Purdue University. Nearly 10,500 students from across the U.S. registered for the highly competitive USABO.

The Center is proud of the success of Team USA 2011 to honor the United States with their outstanding academic performance Number One team in the world at the IBO, said Joann DiGennaro, the Centers president. Rebecca Shi received the Number One individual score in the world at the global competition and this is a remarkable achievement for U.S. academics.

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NJ Lt. Governor and BioNJ Honor NJ Student for Top Honors at International Biology Olympiad during BIO International ...