4 Syosset Students Named Regeneron Contest Semifinalists

SYOSSET, NY — Four Syosset High School seniors were named semi-finalists in the 2022 Rengeneron Science Talent Search. They are among just 300 students nationwide who were selected for the honor.

The semifinalists, know as scholars, were chosen from among more than 1,800 applicants for the program. The Scholars come from 37 states, as well as China, Switzerland. and Singapore.

As scholars, each student will receive a $2,000 scholarship, as well as $2,000 for their school.

"Amid an unprecedented and ongoing global health crisis, we are incredibly inspired to see such an extraordinary group of young leaders who are using the power of STEM to solve the world's most intractable challenges," said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science, publisher of "Science News" and a 1985 Science Talent Search alum. "The ingenuity and creativity that each one of these scholars possesses has shown just how much intellectual curiosity and passion can thrive, even in difficult times."

The Syosset students are Sabrina Chen, Ethan Chiu, Rohan Ghotra and Eric Huang.

Chen completed her project “Negative Charges at T168, S169, and/or S170 of ECM11 Promote Wild-Type Meiotic Progression and Synapsis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cells” under the direction of Dr. Nancy Hollingsworth at Hollingsworth Laboratory, Stony Brook University. The importance of Ecm11 and its negative charges in accurate meiotic progression and synapsis were evaluated by mutating the amino acids on the three phosphosites in yeast, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Chiu completed his project “Developing a Self-Formed Ectodermal Autonomous Multi-Zone Organoid Model Using Human Stem Cells to Examine the Effect of Doxycycline Treatment in Uveal Melanoma” at the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai under the direction of Dr. Timothy Blenkinsop. He studied Uveal Melanoma (UM), the most common deadly eye cancer, and examined the effect of an antibiotic on the genes involved in tumor proliferation.

Ghotra worked under the direction of Dr. Peter Koo at the Koo Laboratory, Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on his project, “Uncovering Motif Interactions from Convolutional Attention Networks for Regulatory Genomics.” He studied computational modeling, in particular artificial intelligence, which is frequently employed for DNA analysis. Ghotra developed a novel pipeline (GLIFAC) for extracting interactions between protein binding sites in the DNA. The proposed technique uses global correlations to statistically validate all local interactions, thus improving accuracy.

Huang's project “Compliant and Aerodynamic Characteristics of a 3D Printed Variable Chamber Aircraft Wing,” was completed at Syosset High school under the direction of Ms. Erin O’Rourke. He used 3D printing plastic to create a small-scale airplane wing capable of bending when a force was applied. Such a design is beneficial because the wing can alter its aerodynamic characteristics to maximize its efficiency depending on the scenario. For example, the wing can be set to full-camber during takeoff to maximize lift and can be set to minimum-camber during cruising to minimize drag.

“Being named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar is a remarkable accomplishment,” remarked Syosset High School research facilitator Veronica Ade. “These students have worked tirelessly throughout their high school careers. I am impressed by their perseverance and am so proud of their accomplishments.”

The scholars from Long Island are:

1. Jacqueline Atchley, Paul D. Schrieber High School, Port Washington
2. Aurrel Bhatia, Bethpage High School, Bethpage
3. Michelle Brown, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore
4. Lawrence Chai, Mount Sinai High School, Mount Sinai
5. Karly Chan, William A. Shine Great Neck South High School, Great Neck
6. Sara Chan, Jericho Senior High School, Jericho
7. Sabrina Chen, Syosset High School, Syosset
8. Caitlin Chheda, Herricks High School, New Hyde park
9. Ethan Chiu, Syosset High School, Syosset
10. Jonathan Chung, Smithtwon High School, East Saint James
11. Lindsay Fabricant, Roslyn High School, Roslyn Heights
12. Abraham Franchetti, Paul D. Schreiber High School, Port Washington
13. Rohan Ghotra, Syosset High School, Syosset
14. Aanya Goel, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park
15. Maya Groothuis, Roslyn High School, Roslyn Heights
16. Bella Guerra, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead
17. Reem Hamdan, Plainedge High School, North Massapequa
18. Eric Huang, Syosset High School, Syosset
19. Jeremy Kotlyar, William S. Shine Great Neck South High School, Great Neck
20. Ethan Labelson, Friends Academy, Locust Valley
21. Rachel Lee, Manhasset High School, Manhasset
22. Abigail Lev, Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview
23. Brandon Lin, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore
24. Ricardo Lopez, Brentwood High School-Ross Center, Brentwood
25. Roberto Lopez, Brentwood High School-Ross Center, Brentwood
26. Christopher Luisi, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore
27. Amber Luo, Ward Melville High School, East Setauket
28. Evie McCreery, North Shore High School, Glen Head
29. Soyoun Moon, Commack High School, Commack
30. Gabi Oliva, Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview
31. Roshni Patel, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park
32. Shivani Patel, Manhasset High School, Manhasset
33. Christopher Prainito, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore
34. Janice Rateshwar, Jericho Senior High School, Jericho
35. Desiree Rigaud, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore
36. Varsha Saravanan, Hauppauge High School, Hauppauge
37. Olivia Schmidt, Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview
38. Sarah Schubel, Smithtown High School, East Saint James
39. Harshita Sehgal, Roslyn High School, Roslyn Heights
40. Shannon Su, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore
41. Lexi Vesselinov, Paul D. Schreiber High School, Port Washington
42. Ethan Wang, Jericho Senior High School, Jericho
43. Isabel Wang, William A. Shine Great neck South High School, Great Neck
44. Gene Weng, Sayville High School, West Sayville
45. Olivia Yeroushalmi, John L. Miller Great Neck North High School, Great Neck
46. Hailee Youn, Roslyn High School, Roslyn Heights
47. Renee Zbizika, John L. Miller Great Neck North High School, Great Neck
48. Allison Zhang, Manhasset High School, Manhasset
49. Billy Zhang, Ward Melville High School, East Setauket