7 Ossining Students Named Regeneron Scholars For 2021

OSSINING, NY — The top 300 scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2021 were announced Thursday by the Society for Science, and seven of the scholars go to Ossining High School.

"Congrats to our amazing students!" district officials said in an announcement.

OHS had the most among the 33 students from the Hudson Valley reaching the Scholar level, followed closely by Byram Hills High School, whose science research program was the model for Ossining's extraordinarily successful 3-year program begun in 1997.

The 300 scholars and their respective schools will be awarded $2,000 each.

The Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation's oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors, according to a spokesperson.

The scholars were selected from 1,760 applications received from 611 high schools across 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 10 countries. They were chosen based on their exceptional research skills, commitment to academics, innovative thinking and promise as scientists, and hail from 198 American and international high schools in 37 states, Puerto Rico, Chinese Taipei and Singapore.

In the Hudson Valley, there were 33 Scholars chosen for 2021.

The local Scholars are:

• Victor LaVaglia, Ossining High School. Project Title: Open Office Noise Disrupts Worker Focus, Satisfaction, and Perception of their Productivity: A Quasi-Experimental Field-Study
• Nicole Camilliere, Ossining High School. Project Title: Year-Long Salinization of Groundwater and Surface Waters of Hudson River Watersheds due to Chronic Road Salt Application
• Michael Pavelchek, Ossining High School. Project Title: Swap70 and Myc Promote Sequential Switching to High Affinity IgE in Allergic Asthma
• Leela Roye, Ossining High School. Project Title: Race vs. Emotion: Evaluating Which is the More Predominant Bias When Using an Attentional Task
• Linlee Mangialardi, Ossining High School. Project Title: Reciprocal Synthesis and Degradation of Trehalose and Glycerol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Analysis Using a Consensus Genome Scale Metabolic Model
• Charles Brown, Ossining High School. Project Title: The Validation of Electrodermal Activity as an Objective Measurement of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Adolescents
• Meagan Ryan, Ossining High School. Project Title: Discovering Long-Lasting Novel Epigenetic Mechanisms Associated with Cocaine Addiction: The Role of the SWI/SNF Remodeling Complex in the Nucleus Accumbens

The Regeneron Science Talent Search provides students with a national stage to present original research and celebrates the hard work and discoveries of young scientists who are bringing a fresh perspective to significant global challenges. This year, research projects cover topics from bioinformatics to public health and energy efficiency.

Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science, said the scholars represent a hopeful outlook for the future.

“At a time when many students’ educational experiences are being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am incredibly humbled to see gifted young scientists and engineers eager to contribute fresh insights to solving the world’s most intractable problems,” she said.

On Jan. 21, 40 of the 300 scholars will be named Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists. From March 10-17, all 40 finalists will compete for more than $1.8 million in awards provided by Regeneron.