Long Island students in 2019 science competition
Long Island is home to five finalists, among 40 in the nation, in the Regeneron Science Talent Search
Long Island is home to five finalists, among 40 in the nation, in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the competition announced on Wednesday, Jan. 23. They appear in bold at the top of the list below, along with the 48 other Long Island students named as Regeneron scholars earlier in the month. Nearly 2,000 students this year entered the competition, formerly run by Intel. The 40 finalists will compete March 7-13 in Washington, D.C. Here are details on the 53 students from Long Island, including the titles listed for their projects and a suggested "tweet."
This database was updated on Jan. 23, 2019.
Schools that have Regeneron Finalists and Scholars
Small dots locate schools with a finalist (red) or scholar (blue), medium dots have combination of 2-3, and the larger dots have 4-8.
Details on the 53 projects
| Name | Level | School | School community | Project title | Student tweet about the project |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name Ahmad Perez | Level Finalist | School Brentwood High School - Sonderling Center | School community Brentwood | Project title Assessing Marsh Degradation in Two Long Island Salt Marshes and a Method for Restoration | Student tweet about the project Salt marshes globally are currently under risk due to rising sea levels, populations, and sediment nitrate concentrations. My project investigates the use of mosquito-ditch growth as a metric for salt marsh degradation in Long Island, as well as investigates the capability of two biopolymers in salt marsh restoration methods. |
| Name Madhav Subramanian | Level Finalist | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title ETM* is indispensable to endothelial behavior during tumor angiogenesis | Student tweet about the project Starving tumors is the new way to fight cancer! Targeting ETM expression in blood vessels can prevent tumors from acquiring nutrients from our bloodstream. By starving tumors, we can stifle the growth and metastasis. How cool is that? |
| Name Eish Maheshwari | Level Finalist | School Herricks High School | School community New Hyde Park | Project title Design of a Red Blood Cell-Based Drug-Delivery Platform for Improving Curcumin Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability via Reengineered Silica Nanoparticles | Student tweet about the project I developed an inexpensive ($4-5 per delivery), reliable, adjustable nanoparticle drug-delivery system using the red blood cells we all have in our bodies. My platform has immense potential to improve the delivery of many hard to deliver drugs. This system can do virtually anything for the medical world! |
| Name Justin Schiavo | Level Finalist | School Roslyn High School | School community Roslyn Heights | Project title The Effect of the Aerospike Nozzle on the Hybrid Rocket Engine | Student tweet about the project In this project, I built a hybrid rocket engine from scratch to figure out how I can improve upon the design and make it more useful. |
| Name Thomas Lam | Level Finalist | School Syosset High School | School community Syosset | Project title The Number Rotation Puzzle | Student tweet about the project Imagine you have a 10 by 10 sliding puzzle, except you have to move 64 pieces at a time, rotating entire 8 by 8 square blocks of pieces at once, 90 degrees around the center. Sound difficult? I figured out how to solve it, and solve even harder versions of this puzzle! |
| Name Jonathan Mashal | Level Scholar | School John F. Kennedy High School | School community Bellmore | Project title Bay Scallop and Eastern Oyster Survival Within Crepidula fornicata Shell Beds in the Peconic Bays, New York | Student tweet about the project Through scuba diving, I studied an alternative habitat for bay scallops. I found that shells in the habitat allowed scallops to avoid more predators, which may impact future marine restoration research. |
| Name Jake Levine | Level Scholar | School John F. Kennedy High School | School community Bellmore | Project title Fasciclin 2 Expression is Positively Correlated with Gut Function Under Nutrient-Poor Conditions in Drosophila melanogaster | Student tweet about the project Gluten-free fix? New research could lead scientists to a gene therapy capable of eliminating symptoms suffered by celiac disease patients. While 1 in 100 people in the U.S. have the disease, most don't know it. If you suffer from chronic undiagnosed symptoms, ask for a simple celiac test and check out the new research here! |
| Name Whitney Sussman | Level Scholar | School John F. Kennedy High School | School community Bellmore | Project title The Role of Clock Genes and Hormones in Small Intestinal Glucose Uptake | Student tweet about the project We have a clock in our bodies that uses genes and hormones to alter the way we metabolize our food. Go figure! |
| Name Rinni Bhansali | Level Scholar | School Half Hollow Hills High School East | School community Dix Hills | Project title A Trust Model in Bootstrap Percolation | Student tweet about the project How did this tweet reach you, and who else has seen it? Did it pass down, from friend to family member, to you? The Trust Model in Bootstrap Percolation can give you these answers, as I graphically model the spread of information across societies in order to gain insight into the processes of marketing, the spread of fake news, and more. |
| Name Matthew Weltmann | Level Scholar | School Half Hollow Hills High School East | School community Dix Hills | Project title Palbociclib Treated MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells Exhibit Increased Invasive Behavior in Zebrafish Xenograft Model | Student tweet about the project I injected human breast cancer cells into zebrafish embryos and determined that tumor cells may be triggered to invade the bloodstream by drugs that prevent cell division. This demonstrates the possibility that division-halting cancer treatments may increase metastasis. |
| Name Vincent Zhang | Level Scholar | School Sachem High School | School community East Farmingville | Project title MRI texture analysis for detection of axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients | Student tweet about the project This project uses texture analysis to accurately detect the metastasis of breast cancer via comparing normal and diseased axillary lymph nodes of MRI scans. |
| Name Anthony D'Amore | Level Scholar | School Smithtown High School East | School community Saint James | Project title Habitat Preference Drives Brain Shape in Crocodylomorphs | Student tweet about the project Have you ever wondered about the incredibly complex evolution of the neuroanatomical structures of modern crocodiles? Me neither! Turns out if you spend the summer researching it, it could end up being pretty dang cool! You can even pretend the crocodiles are dinosaurs if that makes it cooler (that's what I did). #crocosaurs |
| Name Kelsey Ge | Level Scholar | School Ward Melville High School | School community East Setauket | Project title Multidecadal Trends in Tropical Cyclone Behavior within North Atlantic Sub-basins | Student tweet about the project Statistical tests reveal that tropical cyclone intensification has grown more severe over the past thirty years, likely attributed to increases in sea surface temperature and other environmental factors throughout the Tropical North Atlantic Ocean. |
| Name Elizabeth Wang | Level Scholar | School Ward Melville High School | School community East Setauket | Project title A Novel Effect of Cannabidiol (CBD) on Microglial Activation in the Presence of Epileptic Activity | Student tweet about the project A novel relationship discovered between cannabidiol (CBD), microglial activation and epilepsy to guide the development of new epilepsy treatments. CBD was found to have anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory effects on microglial cells associated with epileptic brain activity. |
| Name Maya Pena-Lobel | Level Scholar | School Ward Melville High School | School community East Setauket | Project title Changes in Gene Expression of Ion Regulatory Proteins in Developing Atlantic Silverside (Menidia menidia) Subjected to Ocean Acidification Conditions | Student tweet about the project Carbon emissions have increased acidity and temperature of the earth's oceans. How do such changes influence marine life? I showed that acidity and temperature modify the way genes control protein production in developing fish. Climate change affects fish on a molecular level! |
| Name Megan Specht | Level Scholar | School Ward Melville High School | School community East Setauket | Project title Effect of Micronutrient Consumption in Association with p53 status on Colon Cancer Progression: A Prospective Study in Racial Health Disparity. | Student tweet about the project The micronutrients in the food we consume can be used to treat numerous illnesses -- not just prevent them! The vitamins assessed inhibited colon cancer, but yielded varying results by race, supporting the idea that biological differences between races may be present. |
| Name Michelle Goh | Level Scholar | School John L. Miller Great Neck North High School | School community Great Neck | Project title The Neuroscience of Artificial Intelligence: Comparison of Brain Activation During Text-Based Chatting with Human and Chatbot Partners | Student tweet about the project Does your brain know when its talking to a robot? Research says that it does.Effects of messaging with a human versus a robot are actually more different than we might expect...More social areas of the brain are stimulated during human communication. Looks like artificial intelligence can't replace everything after all! |
| Name Ethan Wang | Level Scholar | School William A. Shine Great Neck South High School | School community Great Neck | Project title Artemisinin and mefloquine as a novel chemotherapeutic combination therapy against colorectal cancer through signaling network alleviation and p-glycoprotein inhibition | Student tweet about the project Fight cancer in new ways! Mefloquine and artemisinin, a potent antimalarial regimen, has been shown to reduce colorectal cancer proliferation, metastasis, and multidrug resistance, demonstrating potential for repurposing as a safe and effective treatment for all patients, even in underprivileged and developing areas. |
| Name Aaron Geula | Level Scholar | School John L. Miller Great Neck North High School | School community Great Neck | Project title The Neuroscience of Two: Does Cross Brain Coherence Measured by fNIRS Imply a Transfer of Information Between Partners | Student tweet about the project The coherence crisis: does cross-brain coherence imply a transfer of information? The award winning musical comes to Broadway. Starring Classic Telephone Ring and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Rated 5 out of 5 stars by New York Times #crossbraincoherence |
| Name Christopher Lu | Level Scholar | School John L. Miller Great Neck North High School | School community Great Neck | Project title Taming a Retrotransposon: Identification of a Domesticated gag Gene in Zebrafish | Student tweet about the project If you told me that proteins associated with long-term memory storage function like viruses a year ago, I would not have believed you. But it's true! Know the name: Arc, it's a retrovirus that has been domesticated into vertebrate and invertebrate genomes (yes, including humans) and contributes to learning and long-term memory processes! #Arc |
| Name Joshua Rothbaum | Level Scholar | School John L. Miller Great Neck North High School | School community Great Neck | Project title Development of a Linear Tubular Design for Electrostatic Mobility Filters: A Cost-Effective Approach to Ion Mobility Spectrometry | Student tweet about the project Ions, like humans, come in all compositions, shapes, and sizes. Just as these factors are what decide our qualities, ion size is a critical determinant of chemical and physical properties. My research developed a compact inexpensive device for nanoaerosol sizing, with applications in material synthesis and climate research.#SizeOnThePrize |
| Name Samuel Bogdanov | Level Scholar | School George W. Hewlett High School | School community Hewlett | Project title Elucidating the molecular mechanism of Clostridium perfringens Epsilon Toxin (ETX) cytotoxicity and the requirement for the Myelin and Lymphocyte Protein MAL | Student tweet about the project Bacteria found in soil and food produce a toxin that may be an environmental trigger for Multiple Sclerosis. When this toxin was experimented on, antibodies against toxin were found that can reduce reduced death in cells that toxin affects. The fight against MS is strong! |
| Name Julia Grossman | Level Scholar | School George W. Hewlett High School | School community Hewlett | Project title Use of fluorine as a proxy to determine the effect of geothermal fluids on strain rate, effective crustal viscosity and landscape evolution in the Great Basin | Student tweet about the project #geologyrocks! This project will have you quaking with excitement when you realize the potential it holds for new rheology models and earthquake prediction techniques. Don't be shocked if the aftershocks of this project lead to big things! #timetorock #regeneronsts #regenerocks |
| Name Siyuan Yue | Level Scholar | School George W. Hewlett High School | School community Hewlett | Project title A Non-Ricardian Model to Estimate Impact of Public Investment on GDP by Sectors: How and For What Should Public Investment be Targeting | Student tweet about the project Buy bond, dude! |
| Name Arianna Pahlavan | Level Scholar | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title Discretizing a hybrid cardiac reconstruction: A novel simulation of sustained fibrillation | Student tweet about the project Physicist Arianna Pahlavan's #scienceresearch project uses #computerengineering to develop a more accurate model of the human heart to improve AEDs (machines to end cardiac arrest). Her experiments support a cheaper, safer device. Since survival chances diminish after 3 min, her goal was to engineer a self-applied shock pen! |
| Name Shruthi Shekar | Level Scholar | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title MALAT1 & SOX: Understanding progression of cancer metastasis post application of negative pressure wound therapy on tumor resected wound beds | Student tweet about the project A novel lncRNA-protein interaction, initially identified as the trigger for breast cancer metastasis, was shockingly noted to initiate tumor recurrence and metastasis following Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, a widely used treatment for cancer patient after tumor resection. |
| Name Jiaxuan Hu | Level Scholar | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title High Precision Doppler Detections of Nearby Earth-like Planets Assisted by a Double Scrambler | Student tweet about the project The high precision radial velocity is difficult to achieve because of light flux non-uniformity, equipment instability, and output image movements due to atmospheric turbulence. My research addressed these factors by using a double scrambler to reduce the radial velocity errors that enable higher detectable rate for Exo-Earth around nearby stars. |
| Name Dia Shah | Level Scholar | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title Alternative dual cancer treatment: Optimization of Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound (LOFU) and radiation in murine breast and prostate cancer cells | Student tweet about the project Conventional cancer treatment is insufficient because it leads to metastases and relapses. A way to combat this issues is a non-toxic way to stress the tumor before treatment is applied, hence making the dosage of treatment lower than it conventionally is, resulting in delivery of low toxicity and ability to target full tumor. |
| Name Gabriella Shayani | Level Scholar | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title FTO: Elucidating roles in cardiomyocyte viability, contractility, and transcript regulation | Student tweet about the project FTO, a gene previously associated with obesity, is now for the first time being studied as a novel regulator of cardiac function. FTO was found to positively regulate several cardiprotective transcripts. FTO may serve as a potential therapeutic target to ameliorate irreversible damage caused under cardiac stress. |
| Name David Xu | Level Scholar | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title A digital interaction glove: Small-scale IMU-based motion-tracking and bimodal (bending/pressure) piezoresistive fabric sensing | Student tweet about the project David Xu is using a special fabric and flexible circuits to create a sensor sheet that detects bending and pressure! He is able to map these quantities of your hand using a 'smart' glove, enabling virtual and augmented reality experiences. Additionally, his improved sensing algorithm can track your hand motions. Smarter clothing may be coming soon! |
| Name Jiaqi Zhang | Level Scholar | School Jericho Senior High School | School community Jericho | Project title A Cross Cultural Study on the Impact of Stress on Thinking Styles of Chinese and American High School Students | Student tweet about the project How can we better understand people of other race, ethnicity, or cultures? In modern day America, more foreign students are coming to the U.S. for education. But the American society has yet fully able to understand how and why these students act and think differently. My study explores this very question and presents a scientifically sound explanation. |
| Name Merrick Cai | Level Scholar | School Kings Park High School | School community Kings Park | Project title The Hilbert Series of the Irreducible Quotient of the Polynomial Representation of the Rational Cherednik Algebra of Type A-(n-1) in Characteristic p for pIn-1 | Student tweet about the project Thank you to Regeneron for giving me an opportunity to share my project! I'm Merrick Cai, and I studied an irreducible representation of the rational Cherednik algebra and computed its Hilbert series. Representation theory is analogous to watching people perform jobs to study them, instead of asking them directly about themselves. |
| Name David Wendt | Level Scholar | School Island Trees High School | School community Levittown | Project title Modeling Negative Thermal Expansion in ScF3 | Student tweet about the project Thermal expansion? I think not! This summer I figured out why an unusual material, ScF3, shrinks when it is heated. Using coding in Python to model the atoms in an ScF3 crystal, I tested the hypothesis against neutron scattering data to figure out why this counterintuitive behavior occurs and how it can be used for practical purposes. |
| Name Juliana Condoleo | Level Scholar | School Lynbrook High School | School community Lynbrook | Project title Investigating the Novel Role of the Activated Cdc-42-Associated Tyrosine Kinase (ACK1) in Learning and Memory using a DAck Allele in Drosophila melanogaster | Student tweet about the project My project discovered a novel role for a protein kinase, known as ACK1, in learning and memory. By using fruit flies as a model organism and an odor-sugar reward association, my research showed that when ACK1 is not expressed, there is a learning deficiency, offering new possibilities for future research in memory deficiencies. |
| Name Kaylie Hausknecht | Level Scholar | School Lynbrook High School | School community Lynbrook | Project title Disentangling Spatial Correlations in Inhomogeneous Materials with Shift-Invariant Artificial Neural Networks | Student tweet about the project My research pioneers the use of machine learning in condensed matter physics as a means of overcoming limitations set by standard computational techniques. Using my novel methodology, I discover a previously elusive property that may advance our understanding of high temperature superconductivity. #ArtificialIntelligence |
| Name Richard Lee | Level Scholar | School Manhasset High School | School community Manhasset | Project title Analytical Interpretations of Geophysical Fluid Mechanics in Coaxial Borehole Heat Exchangers and Respective Applications | Student tweet about the project How many communities can be renewably powered solely by geothermal energy? The answer may be infinitely many. Coaxial borehole heat exchangers 1000+ feet beneath the ground may use thermal energy built up from Earth's inner core to power modern cities without using up natural resources. |
| Name Kendrick Tak | Level Scholar | School Manhasset High School | School community Manhasset | Project title Supplementation of Protein Phosphatases with LiCl and CeO2 in Reducing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Related Tauopathy | Student tweet about the project ALS is a devastating condition that progressively impairs motor functioning. This study aimed to prevent the pathology of a specific protein linked to the disease: tau. By administering two possible candidates for effective clinical treatments, the ability of each to reduce ALS related tauopathy was evaluated. |
| Name Katie Sierra | Level Scholar | School Northport High School | School community Northport | Project title Effects of multiple stressors on survivorship and growth in juvenile Mytilus edulis | Student tweet about the project My project investigates the effects of climate change's stressors on baby mussels. It's demonstrated that baby mussel's development is affected by thermal and nutrient stressors. This could have an impact on coastal environments, the aquaculture industry, and an entire generation of mussels. |
| Name Manan Shukla | Level Scholar | School The Wheatley School | School community Old Westbury | Project title Creating Affordable and Objective Healthcare Solutions using IoT and Cloud Technology | Student tweet about the project Manan Shukla creates an objective pill-dispenser that costs less than a dollar bill! |
| Name Brandon Zhu | Level Scholar | School The Wheatley School | School community Old Westbury | Project title Efficient Zero-Knowledge using Garbled Circuits under the Plain Model | Student tweet about the project I designed a cryptographic method for two parties to communicate without one side learning any information about the other. My 'zero-knowledge' method is several orders more secure and efficient than encryption algorithms used by big data companies, and can also be applied to emerging cryptocurrency technology like Bitcoin. |
| Name Stefan Philip | Level Scholar | School Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School | School community Plainview | Project title Forecasting the Progression of Temporal Orientation Through the Language of Social Media Using Machine Learning | Student tweet about the project What if I told you that your tweets can be used to predict the future? It's true! Your social media language can reveal a great deal about your psychological state, indicative of your future behavior. #watchyourlanguage #icanreadthefuture |
| Name Jolie Bercow | Level Scholar | School Paul D. Schreiber High School | School community Port Washington | Project title The Effect of Herbivory on Neighboring Plant Reproduction in Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) Dominated Communities | Student tweet about the project My project studies how a slight change in pollination networks (through harm to milkweeds) impacts the reproduction of nearby, undamaged, floral species with bees as a vector. |
| Name Emma Levin | Level Scholar | School Paul D. Schreiber High School | School community Port Washington | Project title Identifying United States Hurricane Risk With Changing Climate | Student tweet about the project @FEMA get ready 4 2 new flexible hurcn risk indexes (created w/@ArcGISPro) that uses @NOAA and @NHC_Atlantic 4casts to name counties at risk. Storm mph, freq, rain, and pop. of area affected determine risk. Future risk all over US coast, moreso in NY/FL t |
| Name Leah Taylor | Level Scholar | School Paul D. Schreiber High School | School community Port Washington | Project title The Effect of Celebrity Political Endorsements on Instagram on Activism among High School Students | Student tweet about the project Celebrity endorsements on Instagram play influential roles in high school political participation and activism. Those with higher levels of civic engagement are affected more than others. High schoolers may be inclined to change their opinions to match those of celebrities they like. |
| Name Mayeesa Rahman | Level Scholar | School Roslyn High School | School community Roslyn Heights | Project title Can You be Just a Little Bit of a Cheater? Perceptions of Academic Dishonesty | Student tweet about the project Academic dishonesty is a huge problem in schools today. I studied the effects of various factors on how cheating is perceived, providing fascinating insight into why it may occur. Today, my findings bring us one step closer to understanding and deterring academic misconduct! |
| Name Adrian Ke | Level Scholar | School Roslyn High School | School community Roslyn Heights | Project title The Enticement of Embellishment: The Effect of Graph Embellishment on? Comprehension, Memorability, and Perceptions of Trustworthiness | Student tweet about the project Think graphs are boring? Think again. Graph embellishment is changing the game by melding aesthetics and science so people can better understand and remember the information they're viewing. So, the next time it's 2 am and you're trying to memorize those darn kinetics graphs for chemistry class, consider embellishing them! |
| Name Brandon Lee | Level Scholar | School Roslyn High School | School community Roslyn Heights | Project title Evaluation of Albumin-Based Therapeutics: The Safety and Efficacy of Albumin Fusion on Half-Life Extension, Tissue-Specific Trafficking, and Toxicity | Student tweet about the project Albumin gives us the ability to enhance the strategies we have right now. My project shows the potential implications of albumin as a cytokine delivery strategy, which gives leeway to new drug designs and applications. Albumin-based therapeutics can play a bigger role in drug delivery than we imagine. |
| Name Lindsey Rust | Level Scholar | School Roslyn High School | School community Roslyn Heights | Project title Baseball Diamonds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend: The Effect of Sport, Coach Gender, and Participant Gender on?Attitudes Towards and Perceived Salaries of Coaches | Student tweet about the project New finding reveals we need to level the playing field for male and female coaches. Not only were female coaches abilities under-evaluated in masculine sports, but they were also thought to deserve half the salary of a male coach overall, and a third in a masculine sport! The surprise: females were more biased against female coaches! |
| Name Alexander Rodriguez | Level Scholar | School Smithtown High School West | School community Smithtown | Project title A Genomic and Pharmacological Analysis of Adenosine Receptors in the Sea Anemone Nematostella vectensis | Student tweet about the project My project is an analysis of adenosine receptor function in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Adenosine receptors are vital to the functioning of our nervous system and have been implicated in cancer immunotherapy. My study provides the genomic and biochemical evidence to suggest that these receptors exist in this animal. |
| Name Serena Lee | Level Scholar | School Syosset High School | School community Syosset | Project title The Effect of Hydroxychloroquine on Oral Regeneration in Nematostella vectensis | Student tweet about the project To better understand regeneration in Nematostella vectensis and function of the autophagy pathway, resulting phenotypes of autophagy inhibition using hydroxychloroquine in regenerating polyps suggests their regeneration relies on the autophagy pathway. |
| Name Spencer Pugach | Level Scholar | School Syosset High School | School community Syosset | Project title Twitter and the U.S. Senate: Investigating The Relationship Between the Tweets of Senators and Their Internet Popularity | Student tweet about the project Turns out these politicians are actually benefiting from Twitter use. Who would've thought? Actually, I do know who would've thought . . . well then. I guess I'll get back to my timeline. #Huge |
| Name Michael Wang | Level Scholar | School Syosset High School | School community Syosset | Project title Investigating the Neuroprotective Effects of Taurine and Synthetic Taurine Derivatives for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease | Student tweet about the project High school student researcher makes new discovery that three chemical compounds are effective at preventing cell death in human brain cells with symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. |
| Name Pragati Muthukumar | Level Scholar | School Commack High School | School community Commack | Project title Phylogenetic analysis to Provide Insight on Trihelix Gene function in Arabidopsis thaliana | Student tweet about the project Do you photosympathize with plants? Do you BeLEAF in Plant Science? Plant genomics are TREE-mendous fun! Check out this project that redefines functional genomics! Read about Pragati's work as she uses comparative genomics to discover new Trihelix genes and function!! #whatACORNYpun #gonnaleafthisrighthere |
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