This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

MHS Musings: Scientific Minds Featured at Research Symposium

Some of MHS' hardworking young scientists present their research at the 7th Annual event.

If you missed the 7th Annual MHS Science Research Symposium last night, you missed the opportunity to witness the possible launch of the research careers for some of the country's future scientists.

Of the nine graduating seniors,  five juniors and the 15 sophomores in the rigorous science program that places students with professional scientists, at least a few of them are destined for careers in various scientific fields.

Take senior Allison Bick, the recent national finalist of the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search, who will attend Princeton University in the fall. Her presentation, "Fabrication and Evaluation of Cell Phone Based Water Testing Apparatus" demonstrated an ingenious mechanism she created to determine water quality.

Find out what's happening in Millburn-Short Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Or Stanford-bound senior (and Intel-semifinalist) Haley Fitzpatrick, whose research, "Cdk5 as a Suppressor of the Neuronal Cell Cycle and its Therapeutic Implications," explored a dynamic treatment for the early pathology of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

There's also Hannah James, who will attend Cornell in the fall. Her research "Source and Content of Email Inquiries Received by an Integrative Oncology Website" drew conclusions relating to the use of a website to act as a resource for those interested in Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Find out what's happening in Millburn-Short Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Maybe the next prize-winning scientist will come in the form of Intel-semifinalist Derek Wong. His research in "Fabrication and Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using High Surface Area Titania Powder" explores the potentials of certain solar cells, and the importance of increasing the surface area of titania.

Senior Rei Otake, who will attend Harvard University, observed "Improvements in Mirror Neuron Behavior Through Music Therapy Research" by exploring individuals on the Austism Spectrum and their qualitative/quantitative growth as a result of Nordoff-Robbins music therapy.

Senior Max Wasserman, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania, presented his research of the "Effects of myostatin inhibition in the absence of testosterone on limb and LA/BC muscle growth." He discovered that a disrupted gene and androgen presence have considerable effect on muscle growth regulation.

Senior Max Robbins, who jokingly proclaims that he has "cured cancer," discovered "A Novel Recombinant Immunotoxin for the Treatment of Mesothelin-Expressing Malignancies." Robbins designed and manufactured an immunotoxin protein that was engineered to optimize all cytotoxic pathways in mesothelin-expressing malignancies of lung adenoma.

Senior Ian Barry, who also plays for the MHS baseball team, based his research on his passion. He presented  "Elbow and Shoulder Compensation During Baseball Throw Between Healthy and 4 Corner Fusion Subjects." He investigated how the shoulder and elbow work together to compensate for lack of strength and movement in the wrist. He compared results of healthy pitchers and pitchers who underwent 4CF surgery to their wrists.

Finally, there's senior Taylor Rosenbaum, who compared the physical and chemical effects of cocaine psychosis with symptoms of schizophrenia in her research entitled "Determining the Sensitivity to Auditory Stimulus After Cocaine Administration." In her research, conducted under the supervision of a mentor in the biochemical department of CUNY Medical School, lab rats were injected with cocaine to collect data.

Juniors and sophomores in the Science Research program also presented their research findings, so far, through posters.

The juniors in the program are Orchid Abar, Sara Butter, Rachel Okrent, Santosh Prabha, and Alyssa Weinstein.

The sophomores in the program are Lilly Blum, Julia Burzynski, Deborah Chu, Ezra Engel, Gordon Estes, Panya Gupta, Sahil Gupta, Margaret Mao, Meredith Mattlin, Daniel Miller, Hannah Park, Megha Reddy, Alec Tabatchnick, Emma Xie, William Zhou, and Andrew Zucker.

Drs. Paul Citrin and Paul Gilmore teach the Science Research course and say the course "enables high school students to pursue enriching and original research experiences, an opportunity usually restricted for college students."

Citrin and Gilmore are the young scientists' advisors, along with biology teachers Mr. Chris Schilp and Ms. Gina Cocchiaro.

All students begin the course in their sophomore year, when they explore their areas of interest by corresponding with science professionals, finding a mentor "with whom to collaborate and develop hypotheses." During class, students divide their time between "personal project work and formal class sessions," where they  are taught important scientific and presentation skills. Throughout the entire three-year process, students meet with their teacher advisor biweekly. This adds up to more than 54 meetings.

Students ultimately submit papers and presentations to various science competitions, including the Intel Science Talent Search, the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, the Siemens Competition, the International Science and Engineering Fair, the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.

According to the teachers, "the reward is huge: a high school career spent writing new equations, searching for ways to communicate findings professionally and earning recognition for original ideas and contributions to the scientific community."

This year has been particularly successful for the Science Research program, with produced four senior Intel semifinalists (the highest number in one year), and one finalist in Allison Bick. In the regional Junior Science Symposium, three of the six finalists were Millburn students and one student placed second at the National Symposium in San Diego.

So remember these names... you may see some of them change the world one day.

Download the movie

Download the movie

Download the movie

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Millburn-Short Hills