Bergen Student Is Finalist For US's Top High School Science Award

A Bergen County Academies student is a finalist in the nation's oldest science and math competition.

Varun Kumar has developed a new combination of medicines as a form of treatment for the most common and aggressive type of adult brain tumor. His investigation has revealed the combination has the potential for a greater anti-cancer effect than either drug alone.

Kumar and 39 other students are finalists for the Regeneron Science Talent Search, a nationwide competition for high school seniors sponsored by Regeneron and Society for Science & The Public.

Kumar will receive $40,000 for being named a finalist. He and the other are in the running for $1.8 million in prizes. The finalists' projects will be judged by leading scientists in Washington, D.C. in March.

The top 10 award-winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the National Building Museum on March 12. Their prizes will range from $40,000 to $250,000.

Indrani Das, an Oradell native and a Bergen County Academies alumnus, won the $250,000 grand prize in 2017. She developed a new approach to treating neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's by repairing neurons in the brain. (See related: Bergen Student Wins $250,000, Nation's Top High School Science Competition [video])

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Varun Kumar (Courtesy of Regeneron and The Society for Science and the Public)