The Midwood Science Research Program is proud to announce that Charlynn Trish Ben is a Semifinalist in the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search (STS). Charlynn is the only semifinalist from a Brooklyn high school this year and the first Midwood student to win this award in 9 years. Intel STS Semifinalists represent the top 300 science research projects selected from more than 1,800 nationwide. Each semifinalist receives a $1,000 award from Intel with an additional $1,000 going to his or her school.
- Charlynn Trish Ben
Project: A Shark Homolog of REV3, a DNA Translesion Polymerase
Mentors: Dr. Ellen Hsu and Mercedes Duran, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Six students also received the 2015 Intel STS Research Report Award for "a well-written, college-level, journal-style research report".
- Monique Powell
Project: Kinematics of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) During Courtship Rituals
Mentors: Dr. Frank Grasso and Alphie Supan, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College - Meghan Ng
Project: Direction of Gaze and Monk Parakeet Vocalization
Mentor: Dr. Frank Grasso, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College - Taulant Kastrati
Project: Monitoring the Effect of Guanidine Hydrochloride on the Folding of a Soluble Agglutinin-like Sequence Protein
Mentor: Dr. Peter Lipke, Department of Biology, Brooklyn College - Zainab Iqbal
Project: PTSD Symptoms, Aggression, and Crime Exposure in a Sample of Young Adults
Mentor: Dr. Sara Chiara Haden, Department of Psychology, Long Island University - Syeda Hillary
Project: Characterization of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) Production, Secretion, and Target Cells for LIF within the Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) Niche
Mentor: Dr. Christopher Lange, Department of Radiation Oncology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center - Dina Deng
Project: Determining the Effectiveness of the Biomarker SSEA5 in the Enrichment of Endometrial Cancer Stem Cell Populations Using the Hybrid Spheroid Assay
Mentor: Dr. Christopher Lange, Department of Radiation Oncology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
One student received a Student Initiative Award for "exhibiting extraordinary effort and dedication in her pursuit of scientific research".
- Valeriya Falkovich
Project: Which Catalyst is Most Efficient for a PEMFC?
Mentors: Dr. Sophia N. Suarez and David Cuffari, Department of Physics, Brooklyn College
Congratulations to Charlynn and the other seven winners.