Seaford Science Researchers Tackling Big Questions

SEAFORD, NY. — Seaford High School students have had the chance to dig into scientific questions of their own choosing this year, as the school continues its Science Research program.

There are 31 students in three levels of the class this year, led by teachers Lilly Alaimo and Alexis Charles.

The 31 students in the class are divided into three levels, bringing students from fundamental lessons on what constitutes scientific research to more independent, hands-on research near the end of the program.

“Science research is truly a student-guided class,” Charles said. “We have really
self-motivated students here.”

Among those self-motivated students is Michelle Evangelista, a senior who’s studying how nicotinamide mononucleotide and vibroacoustic therapy could slow the progression of cancer in yeast cells, both by themselves and together.

For Michelle, whose goal is to become a pediatric oncologist, the opportunity to get lab experience early is a useful head start.

“I love research; it’s always been a passion of mine,” Michelle said. “Since I want to go into
the medical field, having the ability to start in high school will help me in the future.”

Michelle’s research is slated for publication in the Journal of Emerging Investigators. In past years, Seaford science researchers have submitted their work to the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, Long Island Science Congress, Regeneron Science Talent Search and South Asian American Women’s Alliance science fairs.

Also among the students in the science research program is junior Kyle Simcox, whose research seeks to evaluate the performance of pitchers in Major League Baseball after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) replacement surgeries. To do this, Simcox is collecting data on 50 pitchers who have undergone the procedure, analyzing the statistics they amassed in the three years prior to and following their surgeries.

Once that data is collected, district officials said Simcox plans to use artificial intelligence to computer model the players’ likely performance post-surgery. It’s a new way for Kyle to see a sport he loves, district officials said, contributing new knowledge to baseball as a whole.

To Kyle’s instructors, that marriage of research with what students care about makes the program well worth the work. Both Alaimo and Charles said science research requires flexibility, reflection and resilience from students who sometimes won’t get the lab results they expected.

“It’s a lot of work,” Alaimo said, “but it’s really rewarding, both for us and the students. They have the choice of what they learn.”