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About
Ensworth is a kindergarten through twelfth grade, coeducational independent school. The School promotes academic excellence and inspires students to be intellectually curious, to use their talents to the fullest, to be people of integrity, and to be contributors to society.
Admission
Whether you're considering Ensworth to start your child's educational journey in Kindergarten or seeking a dynamic High School experience, we are committed to guiding you through every step of the journey.
Academics
The key to fostering a lifelong love of learning is cultivating a child’s intellectual curiosity. Ensworth’s curriculum engages students as active learners while encouraging individual exploration.
Arts
Arts are part of the core curriculum at Ensworth. From Kindergarten through Grade 12, our students have numerous opportunities to explore the creative process, embrace imagination, and cultivate an appreciation for fine arts.
Athletics
The Ensworth Athletics Program encourages students to grow through both triumph and defeat and teaches lifelong skills including discipline and teamwork. We celebrate selfless action, sincere encouragement, intelligent play, and intense preparation.
Community
Each member of the Ensworth community makes valuable contributions to our school’s culture of care. As a community, our combined partnerships help create an exceptional experience for our students.

High school teacher and student talking in the quad

Alara Weitkamp

Weitkamp_Alara

Testing the Effects of Heat Shock to Cardiomyocytes with and without the Hikeshi V54L Mutation

Often, doctors do not know whether death is caused by brain failure or heart failure. To explore this question, I will expose pluripotent stem cell-derived heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) to heat shock stress to see how they respond. I will then compare that response to cardiomyocytes with the Hikeshi V54L mutation. The Hikeshi V54L mutation is associated with the absence of a nuclear heat shock protein (HSP70). HSP70 protects cells from stress-induced injury by inhibiting apoptosis (programmed cell death). The essential guiding question I will pursue is: Are cardiomyocytes with Hikeshi V54L mutation more susceptible to heat shock compared to cardiomyocytes without the Hikeshi V54L mutation. If they are more susceptible, death would be caused by heart failure. I plan to gather this data in a laboratory at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, working with Dr. Kevin Ess, MD, PhD.

Sponsor: Christopher Thompson
Foundational Coursework: AP Biology, Biology Honors