Four Bellmore-Merrick Students Named Science Talent Search Semi-Finalists

Four students from the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District have been named semi-finalists in the Regeneron 2017 Science Talent Search.

The students -- three from John F. Kennedy High School and one from Wellington C. Mepham High School -- are among just 300 semi-finalists, or Scholars, nationwide. They are now in the running to be named as one of 40 finalists that will head to Washington, D.C. in March to compete for the top prize of $250,000.

From JFK, the Scholars were Claire Dorothy Kelly, Jennifer Elizabeth Rakhimov and Michael Dylan Sternbach. And from Mepham, Rachel Elizabeth Jozwik was named a Scholar.

“These students are exemplary young scientists driven by a passion for discovery in their chosen fields of study,” said district Science Chair Robert Soel. “Their scientific investigations involved hundreds of hours of work under the mentorship of cooperating scientists in the field.”

The Regeneron Science Talent Search (formerly run by Intel) is one of the most prestigious science competitions for high school students in the country. More than 1,700 applicants submitted their projects this year.

The finalists will be announced on Jan. 24.

If you want to be even more impressed, here are the projects these students, all 17, worked on:

• Claire Dorothy Kelly: Impulsivity as a Predictor for Enhanced Attention towards Novel Drug-paired Cues.
• Jennifer Elizabeth Rakhimov: Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy in Degenerated Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells.
• Michael Dylan Sternbach: Are Yield Curve Inversions Harbingers of Economic Contractions in Emerging Market and Excessively Debt-Ridden Countries?
• Rachel Elizabeth Jozwik: Correlation Between the rs53576 SNP and Stress Levels in High School Students.

Photo: Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District