What is the impact of fruiting trees on backyard bird populations? Are there waste streams that can be recycled through concrete that reduce the carbon emissions of the construction material’s manufacturing process? Can a standard eye exam be used to detect the neurodegeneration associated with multiple sclerosis?
These are just some of the questions being investigated by the 13 seniors in John Jay’s Science Research program, led by teachers Krista Munger and Dr. Lisa Papernik. The science educators offer students the structure and support to do college-level research. Along the way, students develop academic and professional skills, find career direction and even discover new information.
“SciRe has allowed me to explore my different interests,” said senior Matt Casavant, who worked with the codirectors of Clemson University's Virtual Reality and Nature Lab to research the impact of personalized virtual reality nature therapy. The software he created has the potential to transform an aspect of mental health treatment.
While much of the work is individual, over the course of the three-year program, SciRe students form a tight knit, multi-grade community—the kind that decorates a SciRe gingerbread house before holiday break and writes encouraging notes to senior Felix Poydar before he presents his research on marine microbes' adaptation to cold across varying levels of salinity at the Upstate New York Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.
Hadley Courtenay highlights the team aspect to SciRe. “When I was a sophomore, I was changing my topic,” she said. “The seniors were so supportive in helping me determine what I wanted to research and write query letters to possible mentors.”
Finding one’s mentor is a SciRe milestone. They are professionals working in the students’ area of study who help design research methodology and offer access to a lab, colleagues and other resources. Many students cite their relationship with their mentor as one of the most impactful aspects of the program.
Senior Kaycie Keeley worked to identify the tissue locations in which Alzheimer’s disease genes are highly expressed. “My mentor, Dr. García-González—a scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—told me about her own experiences,” said Kaycie. “This helped guide me in knowing what I want to do.”
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Science Research students will present their work at the Regeneron Westchester Science & Engineering Fair on March 15, and at John Jay’s symposium on April 24. Sophomores show their work at the Somers Science Fair on June 7.
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Congratulations to Science Research Seniors! Read their profiles on social media #jjscire
• Wyatt Bruch: "Using Mesocosms to Simulate the Effects of Lake Drawdown on Sediment-Nutrient Dynamics"
• Dakota Cameron: "Concrete Solution: Utilization of Plastic Fiber Wastes from the Fast Fashion Industry andCarbon-neutral Pozzolan in Concrete to Mitigate Environmental Impacts of Materials"
• Matt Casavant: "Personalized Nature Virtual Reality (PnVR): A Novel Personalized Virtual Reality Nature Therapy via a Triple Combination Computational Software for Worldwide Mental Health Benefit"
• Hadley Courtenay: "The Effect of a Digital Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Guided Breathing Technique on Anxiety in Patients Diagnosed with Breast Cancer at their Pre-Operative Appointment"
• Aminata Gueye: "Evaluating the Necessity of Local Air Monitors to Capture PM 2.5 Concentration Near Schools with Regional Monitors Already Implemented"
• Kaycie Keeley: "Investigating the Association of Alzheimer’s Disease Genes and Brain Tissue Deterioration"
• Massi Marietti: "Artificial Intelligence and Sentiment Analysis for Stock Market Prediction: Evaluating the Impact of News Sentiment on Market Trends"
• Marc Milliot: "Preparing Fusion: Simulating the Microstructural Development of Tungsten Under Fusion Relevant Conditions including Helium, Hydrogen, and Vacancies"
• Austin Omin: "Examining the Relationship Between Air Pollution-Induced Asthma and Air Pollution-Induced Cognitive Impairment"
• Felix Poydar: "Measuring the Cold Adaptability of Marine Microbes Across a Salinity Gradient"
• Cicely Schembri: Evaluation of Fish Biosolids as a Growth Media Component for Organic Tomato Transplant Production
• Nina Vigil: "A Parcel-Scale Examination of the Advantages of Fleshy-fruit-bearing Flora for Residential North American Avifauna"
• Hanna Zhao: "Investigating Subclinical Axonal Loss in Multiple Sclerosis: Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thinning as an Early Indicator Without Optic Neuritis"