OHS Student Is One of Four Neuroscience Research Prize Winners

Ossining High School senior Meagan Ryan is one of four winners of the American Academy of Neurology’s 2021 Neuroscience Research Prize and the only student selected to present her work at the Child Neurology Society’s annual meeting.

Meagan was one of 10 finalists for the award, which rewards students for their outstanding achievements in neuroscience research and recognizes the work of science teachers who support them in their research. OHS senior Bonnie Lin, who conducted her research on autism, was also a finalist. Angelo Piccirillo and Valerie Holmes co-teach the Science Research Program.

The four winners each receive $1,000 from the American Academy of Neurology. Meagan has been selected to present her research on how long periods of cocaine withdrawal and relapse change the brain.

Meagan conducted her research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with mentor Dr. Eric Nestler and Dr. Philipp Mews, a post-doctoral student. She found that multiple proteins in the SWI/SNF remodeling complex – a group of proteins involved in gene expression and repairing damaged DNA – decreased when mice with chronic cocaine addiction and withdrawal were re-exposed to the drug. That suggests the proteins have a reduced function and involvement in the chromatin (chromosomal material) after a relapse.

“We can target these changes for potential treatments, which would prevent or help with addiction treatment because finding treatment for addiction, especially cocaine, is difficult,” she said.

Meagan plans to major in psychology in college and potentially pursue a career in criminal psychology. She is a member of the Human Rights Club at OHS and has been on the varsity gymnastics team since seventh grade. She has been in Girl Scouts since kindergarten and is working on her Gold Award.