Two Ossining Students are Finalists for National Neuroscience Prize

Two Ossining High School seniors are among 15 finalists from a nationwide pool of high school projects for the 2017 Neuroscience Research Prize, which is sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society.

The students are Brianna Cauthen and Adriana Scanteianu, who are part of the school’s Fundamentals of Science Research program. A panel of physicians and scientists who are conducting neuroscience research at academic institutions will evaluate the entries and choose four winners after two rounds of competition.

“We are very fortunate to have these two amazing students in our program. It is humbling to know high school students who are conducting frontline research that have the potential to make real contributions that are novel and push our knowledge base forward,” said Angelo Piccirillo, who co-teaches the Science Research Program with Valerie Holmes.

The Neuroscience Research Prize was created to encourage high school students to explore the brain and nervous system through laboratory research.

The winners, who will be announced in early February, will receive $1,000 each. Three of them, along with their teachers, will present their work at the American Academy of Neurology’s 69th annual meeting this spring in Boston, the world’s largest gathering of neurologists. One winner will have the opportunity to present his or her work at the Child Neurology Society’s 46th annual meeting next October in Kansas City, Missouri.

Photo: Brianna Cauthen (left) and Adriana Scanteianu (right).