Young William Floyd Scientists Continue To Wow

MASTIC BEACH, NY — William Floyd High School science research students, under the direction of dedicated science research teacher Victoria Hernandez, continue to wow.

The students have garnered accolades at various research competitions, including the Long Island Science Congress and the New York State Science and Engineering Fair Andromeda Competition held this spring, district officials said.

Earning top honors at the Long Island Science Congress were Asma Asghar and Farihah Chowdhury, who took home “High Honors” and the “Distinguished Categorical Monetary Award for Ecology,” the district said in a release.

Asma and Farihah analyzed the pathogens present within Lone star ticks; they concluded from their data that the environment influences microbes within the ticks and that pathogen ancestral lineage appears to be associated with symptoms exhibited in humans, district officials said.

Earning “Honors” at the Long Island Science Congress were Dominick Caputo, Jason Rattansingh, Elizabeth Scianno, Philip Oriuwa and Angela Ochoa; and earning “Meritorious” were John Hangley, Michael Borrayo, Nathalia Reis, Erin Tumbrello, Christian Meehan and Kyle LaSpisa.

At the NYSSEF Andromeda Competition, Nathalia Reis and Erin Tumbrello earned second-place honors for their project analyzing the biodiversity of biological vectors throughout wooded and coastal regions, the district said.

The students discovered that there were more vectors in wooded regions, which they attributed to increased habitat complexity; they also found a potentially novel genetic sequence of a vector.

In that same competition, Dominick Caputo and Jason Rattansingh took home “Honorable Mention” awards, the district said.

Patch courtesy photo.