23 Hudson Valley Students Named Regeneron Scholars

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The top 300 scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026, the nation's oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors, were announced Wednesday by the Society for Science — and 23 of them are from the Hudson Valley.

The 300 scholars will be awarded $2,000 each and their schools will be awarded $2,000 for each enrolled scholar.

"We are inspired by this year's scholars for their remarkable projects and drive to use the power of STEM to improve the world around them," said Christina Chan, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Regeneron, the global biotech giant based in the Hudson Valley. "Our partnership with the Society for Science is all about empowering young scientists and inspiring them to use their creativity and inventiveness to advance solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. We congratulate the scholars on their achievement and look forward to seeing what each of their futures hold."

The Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars were selected from over 2,600 entrants from 826 high schools across 46 states, Washington, D.C., Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and 16 countries.

On Jan. 21, 40 of them will be named Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists. The finalists will then compete for more than $1.2 million in awards during a weeklong competition in Washington, D.C. from March 5 to March 11.

Scholars were chosen based on their outstanding research, leadership skills, community involvement, commitment to academics, creativity in asking scientific questions and demonstration of exceptional promise as leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through original, independent research projects, essays, and recommendations.

The 300 scholars hail from 203 American and international high schools in 34 states, Washington D.C., and China. Locally, they include:

Ardsley High School

• Serina Tomioka, 17; Project Title: Characterizing the Spatial Dynamics of CD44 and Amyloid-beta Plaques in Alzheimer's Disease Brain
• Khushi Karthikeyan, 18; Project Title: Probing Potential Stellar Formation Pathways of Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

Briarcliff High School

• Elias Malionek, 18; Project Title: The Effects of Education of Interpersonal Relationships and Positive Masculinity in a Group Environment Led by a Same-Sex Peer With Adolescent Males on Depression, Self-Esteem and Ideologies of Masculinity

Byram Hill High School

• Max Charney, 18; Project Title: Harnessing Millions of Consumer Reviews To Reveal Societal Trends at an Unprecedented Scale: Two Proof-of-Concept Studies for a Novel Computational Social Science Approach
• Lindsay Coady, 17; Project Title: The Identification of Anti-Complement Autoantibodies in Schizophrenia: A Novel Gene by Environment Hypothesis of Autoimmunity in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Edgemont High School

• Vasu Jain, 17; Project Title: Identification of Chromatin Modification Regulators Implicated in Cancers through CRISPR Screening
• Ananya Shah, 17; Project Title: A Comparison of Precinct and District Voting Data Using Persistent Homology To Identify Gerrymandering in North Carolina

Hackley School

• Sophie Katherine Huang, 17; Project Title: Deleting DNA Damage Repair Proteins Exo1, Sgs1, Rad24 and Rad9 Restores Cell Viability in Cdc13-null Candida glabrata

Harrison High School

• Noelie Roxane Boquet Couderc, 17; Project Title: Determining if Radioprotection Can Be Enhanced Through the Use of Deinococcus radiodurans MDP and Tardigrada Dsup Protein: Implications for Space Exploration
• Emily Ann Salemo, 17; Project Title: The Effect of α-Tocopherol on Locomotor Ability of The Drosophila melanogaster Mutant for Glutathione S-Transferase Theta 3

Horace Greeley High School

• Warren Fu, 17; Project Title: Biophysical and Genomic Drivers of Targeted Therapy Resistance: Analysis of Growth Dynamics in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
• Kevin Guo, 17; Project Title: Development of a SpyTag/SpyCatcher-Based Antibody-siRNA Internalization Assay for High-Throughput Screening
• Brady Wang, 18; Project Title: Generation of Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates Using a Novel Conjugation Technology

Ossining High School

• Natalie Partridge; Project Title: Reading Interventions Foster Prosocial Behavior Development in Young Children
• Summerville Beckford, 17; Project Title: Immersive Virtual Reality Paired With a Stress Mindset Intervention Improves Stress Management in Adolescents

Pelham Memorial High School

• Emily Walch, 18; Project Title: Testing a Domain-Specific Impact of English Language Cognitive Test Bias in Spanish Speakers in the United States

Scarsdale High School

• Shuyue (Linda) Zhang, 17; Project Title: Optimizing Gene Capture: A Direct Cloning Strategy for Large Genomic Fragments
• Sonja Xie, 17; Project Title: Neurite Degeneration Induced by UK-5099 Inhibition of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier Reveals Metabolic Thresholds for Neuronal Integrity

Spackenkill High School

• Sayeed Hossain, 18; Project Title: Probing Quantum Gravity Signatures: Sensitivity Curves for Novel Interferometer Topologies for the QUEST Experiment Using FINESSE

Westlake High School

• Elizabeth Singh, 17; Project Title: A Novel Epigenetic Pathway to Reversing Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension? Investigating the Regulating Role of UHRF1 in Smooth Muscle Cells

Yorktown High School

• Jashvi Desai, 18; Project Title: Neuroinflammatory Signatures and Compensatory Prefrontal Mechanisms in Long COVID-19: Insights From 7T MRI and Cognitive Modeling
• Siddharth Nair, 17; Project Title: Large-Scale Plastic Detection Pipeline via Machine Learning-Augmented Remote Sensing
• Willa Olson, 17; Project Title: The Effect of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals on the Social Behaviors and Testosterone Levels of the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

"Congratulations to the top 300 scholars in this year's Regeneron Science Talent Search," said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO, Society for Science and Publisher, Science News. "Their research highlights the creativity, rigor and determination that's pushing forward the future of scientific discovery. We are honored to recognize their achievements and support their continued pursuit of STEM excellence."

The full list of scholars can be viewed here.