Smithtown HS West Senior Named Rising Scientist Award Winner

SMITHTOWN, NY — Julia Savino, a senior at Smithtown High School West, was named a 2020 Rising Scientist by the Child Mind Institute, the Smithtown Central School District announced. She is one of only five students in the New York metropolitan area to receive this prestigious scholarship award.

The Rising Scientist award recognizes her exceptional promise as a future scientist in the field of neuroscience and adolescent and child mental health.

Savino's work in the school's science research program during the last three years is a key reason for the recognition, said Smithtown High School West research coordinator Dr. Joanne Figueiredo.

"During her years in high school, she has focused on understanding the mechanism by which NMDA receptor activation causes a cascade of events that result in excitotoxicity," Figueiredo said in the news release. "In order to study this question, she has used the model organism Nematostella vectensis. Her recent work has developed into an analysis of the evolution of calmodulin and its kinase. She hopes that by elucidating the steps in this mechanism, she will aid in the development of strategies that mitigate the excitotoxicity that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases."

The Rising Scientist Awards, presented in partnership with Hunter College, are given annually to outstanding high school students who show exceptional promise in research areas related to mental health. Awards are scheduled to be presented at their annual scientific symposium on Oct. 6.