Six Ossining High School Seniors Named Regeneron Scholars

OSSINING, NY — Ossining's science research program continues to turn out amazing student scientists, and this year six of them were named Regeneron Scholars.

The Society for Science announced the 300 Scholars on Tuesday. 32 of them were from the Hudson Valley, including:

Ossining High School

• Samara Davis, 17, Project Title: Developing Environmental DNA Metabarcoding for the Detection of Elusive Vernal Pool-Breeding Amphibians
• Sarah Gardner, 17, Project Title: Co-Evolving Across Time: Black Holes as Regulators of Their Host Galaxy Properties
• AriAnnah Goodwin, 17, Project Title: Forecasting Visual Aura Characteristics: Perceived Stress Does Not Predict Temporal Aura Features in Adolescents
• Sarah Delia Jennings, 17, Project Title: Electron Transport Chain Acts as Potential Regulator of ER-Mitochondria Interactions
• Jesse Lynch, 17, Project Title: Aerobic Exercise Serves as an Effective and Immediate Treatment for Decreased Sound Tolerance in Adolescents
• Joseph Miguel Robertazzi, 17, Project Title: Migration and Magnetism: A Longitudinal Analysis Identifying the Relationship Between the South Atlantic Anomaly and Shifts in Migratory Bird Populations

"Congrats to OHS students Samara D., Sarah G., AriAnnah G., Sarah J., Jesse L., and Joseph R. on being named semifinalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search. #opride," district officials said on Facebook.

The 300 Scholars were selected from the 1,949 student-scientists who entered the competition. They were chosen based on their research, leadership skills, community involvement, commitment to academics, creativity in asking scientific questions and promise as STEM leaders demonstrated through the submission of their original, independent research projects, essays and recommendations.

"The enthusiasm and quality of projects from this year’s participants were just outstanding," said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of the Society for Science and publisher of Science News.

In 2022, Ossining also had a finalist in the prestigious contest, Nyasha Nyoni, who analyzed food and drink endorsements by celebrities and “relatable influencers” on Instagram. She showed that influencers posted more unhealthy products and more products overall than celebrities. Her findings may encourage regulation of social media marketing to underage consumers. Her project title: Unhealthy Scrolling: Instagram Influencers Endorse More Unhealthy Food and Beverage Products Compared to Celebrities. SEE: Ossining Student Named Finalist In 2022 Prestigious Science Contest

In 2021, Regeneron named seven semifinalists from OHS.