Smithtown HSE Seniors Given Proclamation By Executive Steve Bellone

ST. JAMES, NY — Sarah Schubel and Jonathan Chung, seniors at Smithtown High School East, were honored last week with proclamations for placing as Regeneron STS scholars. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone presented the proclamations, the school district announced.

Schubel and Chung, along with HSE science teacher Maria Zeitlin, attended Bellone’s State Of The County address.

In her research, Schubel investigated a mechanism for neurodevelopmental disorders using zebrafish as model organisms. Mutating NMDA receptors allowed her to look at the resulting physiological defects.

Chung investigated the changes in the coral microbiome under heat stress which is what would occur during oceanic warming. It was found that populations of corals that had heat-loving bacteria on them would have a higher resistance to coral bleaching.