Hamden Hall Junior Excels at Symposium

Hamden Hall Country Day School junior Alex Buhimschi received special recognition for his oral presentation on treating solid tumors with UV light at the 49th Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at the University of Connecticut.

Alex was the only junior oral presenter who, at the Awards Presentation, earned distinction for being the first runner-up. As such, he has received an all-expenses paid trip in May to the National Meeting of the Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposium at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD, according to his mentor, Hamden Hall science teacher Dr. Francis P. Gasparro.

“At his UConn presentation, he exhibited total command of the subject as he delivered a comprehensive and powerful presentation. His level of engagement and commitment is superlative,” said Dr. Gasparro.

One of 14 high school students statewide selected to present their research at the symposium, Alex’s presentation was titled: “Improved and Novel Methods forAssessment of Psoralens as Theragnostic Anti-Cancer Agents.”

At Hamden Hall, Alex is one of the inaugural students who has been accepted into the school’s premier Science, Innovation & Design Initiative, which commences in the 2012-2013 school year. The program is an interdisciplinary, cross-division program that encourages highly motivated and intellectually curious students to excel as they develop a panoply of skills.

As a senior next year, Alex was selected to the Pinnacle Program and will be expected to perform an independent project, which will culminate in a thesis presentation.

Alex is the son of Dr. Catalin Buhimschi and Dr. Irina Buhimschi of New Haven.