Westhampton Beach High School Student Earns Top Science Honors

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WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — A Westhampton Beach High School student has earned top honors in a science competition.

Advanced science esearch student Nicholas Borruso placed first in the environmental category in the Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposium semifinals. The win earned him an invitation to the regional finals on Feb. 22 at CUNY York College.

"Watching Nick present his research in front of the audience and judges, I felt like I was at a scientific conference watching a university professor," said science research teacher Dianna Gobler. "He was polished and confident and explained his research with the perfect balance of technical terms while still making it relatable and understandable. He has a very bright future ahead in science, and I am so proud of him."

Borruso is one of only 16 high school researchers from Long Island to advance to the next level. To earn the spot, he competed against 320 of his peers. He will now vie for one of five spots to compete in Washington, D.C., for scholarships and other awards.

"Winning first place in my category is a tremendous honor," said Borruso. "It’s especially meaningful considering the incredibly talented pool of students who participated."

Borruso was selected to compete in the Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposium after submitting a research paper that showcased his findings from an individual research project, "Assessment of the Behavioral Impacts of PFAS on Danio rerio."

He said he selected the project, in which he studied the effects of forever chemicals on zebrafish, because he has always been interested in neuroscience and pollution of environmental health. His research was conducted during the summer as part of a Simons Summer Research Program at Stony Brook University, where he served as a fellow in Dr. Howard Sirotkin’s lab in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior.

Aside from participating in his school’s science research program, Borruso volunteers at a local emergency department and is vice president of his school’s robotics team, for which he inaugurated a mentor program for robotics in the middle school.

He is also co-editor of his school’s "Seascapes" publication, participates in Key Club, and is a member of his school’s National, Language, Math and Science honor societies. He is an AP Scholar with Distinction and has earned an AP Capstone designation on his diploma.

He plans to study neuroscience in college on a pre-med track.