Science Research
I've been in the science research program at North Shore High School since Freshman Year.
In freshman year, I investigated the antibacterial efficacy of natural homemade dog toothpaste compared to commercial dog toothpastes and found that the natural homemade dog toothpaste was significantly more antibacterial compared to the commercial dog toothpastes.
Awards:
Long Island Science Congress, Junior Division 2022- Best in Category, Advance to NYS Science Congress
My Drosophila melanogaster Journey
I have been working with fruit flies since sophomore year and have been interested in preventive treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. From sophomore to junior year, I worked on investigating how long-term cocoa supplementation affects the Alzheimer’s disease model of a fruit fly and found that it rescued the model's neuromuscular fitness and survival.
(June 2023-September 2023)
Awards:
Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar (2025) Top 300 in the nation
2024 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair Finalist- 3rd place Animal Sciences
Long Island Science and Engineering Fair 2024- 1st Place in Animal Sciences
STANYS Highest Honors 1st Place (2024)
Long Island Science Congress, Senior Division 2024- Best in Category, Advance to NYS Science Congress
I am currently investigating how long-term magnesium supplementation affects the Parkinson’s disease model of a fruit fly and found it rescued the model's neuromuscular fitness & survival.
(April 2024-July 2024)
With more knowledge of Drosophila melanogaster from my previous research, I've been able to conduct even more assays!
Insight
What made you want to investigate neurodegenerative diseases? This is mainly due to my great-grandmother’s affliction with dementia. Unfortunately when I was 10-13 years old, I had to witness her slowly forget my name and the people around me. With her love for chocolate and me remembering from when I was younger that cocoa may provide cognitive benefits, I knew I had to explore how long term cocoa supplementation may affect the Alzheimer’s disease model of a fruit fly–I ended up finding it rescued the model both neuromuscularly and survival wise. My current project: how long-term magnesium supplementation may affect the Parkinson’s disease model of a fruit fly is similar in that it stems from my motivation to find a preventative treatment against neurodegenerative diseases. I’ve also been inspired from taking magnesium supplements myself for better sleep quality. Additionally, I’ve found that long-term magnesium supplementation rescued the Parkinson’s disease model of a fruit fly.
What's the most difficult part of research? Well initially, it was the smell of the fly food. However, after telling myself the food is salt and vinegar chips I have been able to endure it. On a serious note, it is definitely creating the fruit fly models and being patient. Collecting data and maintaining fruit fly stocks takes many months. In order to create the models, I had to collect virgin female flies which require going into the lab every 8 hours. Essentially I was in the lab from night to morning collecting virgin females. However, it is in the nature of research to have some tedious parts and fruit flies develop relatively faster compared to other animal models. They [the flies] have kind of become my friends :).
What's your favorite part of research? Definitely the sense of accomplishment when your research could help make a breakthrough in preventive treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. There's something about being the only person to know a finding when it first occurs.