4 Blind Brook HS Students Earned 7 Awards At The Regeneron 2022 WESEF

RYE BROOK, NY — Blind Brook High School students made their presence known at the 2022 Regeneron Westchester Science & Engineering Fair (WESEF), taking home several awards.

The fair serves area high school students who have conducted original research projects in Westchester, Putnam and Sullivan Counties and are interested in sharing their research, competing for awards and a chance to attend the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Atlanta, from May 7 - 13.

Four young scientists from Blind Brook High School impressed the judges and won an impressive roll of awards in a diverse list of categories.

All four students were guided by Dr. Michele Sugantino, called "Doc" by the students, the Science Department Coordinator and teacher of the Science Research class. Senior Archana Kumaran noted Sugantino puts so much care and detail into the program to ensure the students' success.

Junior Ciela Angel-Lalanne added "As women we always talk about being a woman in STEM, but seeing the real-life effects of this—OK, I've done this really complicated science that grad students are doing. If I can do that, I will have confidence in my other classes. And it's kind of destigmatizing science because let me sign up for that harder science course because I did it in this class."

"This is the only class that afford students the opportunity to go out into the community and conduct real research and present it to judges in competitions," junior Melina Kohilakis said. "It's such a unique program."

Speaking about attending the awards ceremony in person, after two years of pandemic-related restrictions, Kumaran said, "Not only were all of the people there excited about science research, but every one of them did something to get to where they were at that point. To be in a room filled with people who were in that exact same situation, it was just so cool."

Lalanne agreed about the excitement in the room. "I think it's celebrating academic achievement in a really fun way that you might only see with sports."

Blind Brook High School winners:

4th Place Awards were sponsored by the Westchester Academy of Medicine. Winners received a medallion and $50.

• Computational Bio/Bioinformatics: Tiffany Chao; "Computational analysis of synaptic protein mutations: impact and implications in autism spectrum disorder"
• Computational Bio/Bioinformatics: Ciella Angel-Lalanne; "Effects of Chromosome X Data on Heritability Mediated by Gene Expression"
• Medicine and Health Sciences: Archana Kumaran; "Atrial Fibrillation and Alcohol intake: Do patients know about this Relationship?"

U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize certificates were awarded to outstanding water science projects. Winners were also nominated to enter the state water prize competition.

• Environmental Sciences: Melina Kohilakis; researched microplastics found in effluent by the Meridian & North Haven wastewater treatment plants.

Office of Naval Research certificates, medallions and $50 gift cards were given to outstanding individual projects in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics.

• Medicine and Health Sciences: Archana Kumaran; "Atrial Fibrillation and Alcohol intake: Do patients know about this Relationship?"

Environmental Perspiration Awards of $100 sponsored by Robert Weireter were given to students who demonstrated a high level of perseverance and dedication.

• Environmental Sciences: Melina Kohilakis; assessed microplastics found in effluent by the Meridian & North Haven wastewater treatment plants.

The George D. Yancopoulos Young Scientist Award is named after Regeneron's Chief Scientific Officer, who has dedicated his career to using science to discover new medicines for patients in need. The award honors student investigators whose passion for science may lead to the development of novel technologies or biological insights.

• Computational Bio/Bioinformatics: Tiffany Chao; "Computational analysis of synaptic protein mutations: impact and implications in autism spectrum disorder"

A video of the awards ceremony can be found here. The full list of Hudson Valley winners, including finalists, can be viewed here.

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