Schreiber Seniors Named Siemens Semifinalists

Submitted by Port Washington Schools.

Paul D. Schreiber High School seniors Samuel Goldman and Rachel Kogan were named semifinalists in the highly prestigious 2014 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

Though they fell short of being named to the regional finals, both students received special recognition on the Siemens Competition website, and have been praised by their school community for their research projects. The Siemens Competition is a highly competitive national contest that recognizes remarkable talent early in their scientific careers, fostering individual growth for high school students who are willing to challenge themselves through science research.

Goldman’s research project title was “A network-based identification of virus resistance genes in plants.” He researched the genetics of cassava, a plant that serves as an important food source of the developing world, namely Sub-Saharan Africa. He investigated the genetic changes that occur when the plant is infected with cassava brown streak disease, a viral infection that makes the plant inedible. He conducted this research at the Coruzzi Lab in the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology at New York University.

Kogan’s research project title was “Localization of the amino acid sequence dictating FasR distribution in HEK293T and HeLa cell lines via genetic modification.” She researched the Fas death receptor’s (a cell receptor that signals for cell death) signaling pathway and how its location and distribution in cancer cells can cause the cell to either grow or die at SUNY Stony Brook. By modifying the amino acid sequence of the death receptor, she was able to identify a portion of the sequence that was responsible for the distribution patterns. This new understanding of the Fas receptor’s function pioneers a new focus in cancer research and sets a foundation for future drugs to more efficiently treat cancer.

“I’m extremely proud of both students, their accomplishments and the quality research involved in their projects,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Mooney. “Their hard work and perseverance paid off, and they’ve made the Port Washington School District community very proud.”