Two Los Altos Teens Honored For Alzheimer’s Research

LOS ALTOS, CA – Two Los Altos teens have been recognized for achievements in Alzheimer’s disease research.

Jack Albright and Anushka Sanyal, both 16, were among 20 Davidson Fellow scholarship award recipients. Each will receive $10,000 scholarships.

Albright is a junior at The Nueva School in Hillsborough and Sanyal a senior at Homestead High School in Cupertino.

“I am incredibly honored to be named a Davidson Fellow and am humbled to be included in such an esteemed and talented group of young people striving to make positive changes in the world,” Albright said.

“I am grateful to the Davidson Institute for generously supporting my education and for giving me the opportunity to share my work on machine learning and Alzheimer’s disease.”

After his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2017, Albright developed a machine learning model capable of predicting future Alzheimer’s diagnoses.

When combined with a novel preprocessing algorithm Albright developed in parallel, his machine learning model was able to accurately predict the onset of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in patients suspected of having Alzheimer's disease on a month-by-month basis, up to seven years into the future.

Sanyal’s work identifies a novel neuronal receptor signaling pathway (pathway through which neurons send signals) which could be used to develop potential therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Her research shows that nAChR α7 and GPSP lie within the same pathway and should be tested further due to the potential to yield a novel therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s patients.

“Having my work recognized is a tremendous honor,” Sanyal said.

“I am truly humbled by it and very excited to be included in the 2020 Davidson Fellows among many inspiring, talented students.”

The 2020 Davidson Fellows will be honored during a digital reception on September 30, 2020.

“By being awarded this recognition, these students have shown immense skill and work ethic, and they should be commended as they continue their educational and research journeys while continuing to work to solve some of the world’s most vexing problems,” Davidson Institute founder Bob Davidson said.

The Davidson Fellows Scholarship program offers $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships to students 18 or younger, who have completed significant projects that have the potential to benefit society in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, literature and music.

The Davidson Fellows Scholarship has provided more than $8.2 million in scholarship funds to 366 students since its inception in 2001, and has been named one of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships by U.S. News & World Report.

It is a program of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Reno, Nev. that supports profoundly gifted youth.

Gilroy School District Cancels On-Campus Activities Citing Poor Air Quality

The Gilroy Unified School District has canceled on-campus activities and encouraged teachers and staff to work at home through Tuesday.

GUSD Superintendent Dr. Deborah Flores issued a statement Monday citing poor air quality for her decision.

Air quality is forecast to be within the unhealthy to hazardous range in southern Santa Clara County, including Gilroy, over the next three days, Flores said, noting that Bay Area Air Quality Management District recommends that people should stay at home, and avoid being outside when air quality is unhealthy.

“Given these precautions, I have highly recommended to all GUSD staff and teachers that they should work at home through Tuesday afternoon. That information was communicated to our principals today,” Flores’ statement said.

The District Office has also directed all school sites to postpone textbook pick-up, materials distribution, and school photos that were scheduled to take place on any GUSD campus through Tuesday, Flores said, noting that a decision for anything scheduled through the end of the week will be communicated by the end of the day on Wednesday.

Flores said administrative leaders will be in contact with families if their teacher is unable to provide online instruction due to connectivity challenges or if there is disruption due to the fires.

Parents and guardians of GUSD students are asked to continue to check their ParentSquare account and their child’s GUSD email (log-in instructions can be found here) for updates through Tuesday.

Those who need a teacher or staff member at child’s school can request one via email or ParentSquare Flores said, noting office staff may not be in this week to answer the phone and direct incoming calls.

Email information for staff can be found on school websites. A complete list of school websites can be found here. School staff directories can be found on a school’s website under the “Our Staff” tab.

Parents or guardians of students who cannot participate in distance learning due to evacuation mandates are asked to communicate with their child’s teachers and principal as soon as it is safe to do so.