Nanuet Science Students Tackle Leukemia, Alzheimer’s Diseases

Four Nanuet high school seniors, Ruby Patel, Michael Wallach, Jordana Schucker and Jasmine Weinman, are preparing their Applied Science Research Project PowerPoint and poster presentations on Leukemia, Alzheimer’s,  Parkinson’s and dog behavior for upcoming competitions.

Patel worked with mentors, Dr. Christopher Park and Alec Stranahan of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on her project, “Identifying Determinants of Chemotherapy Resistance in Leukemic Cells.” Schucker’s mentors, Kevin McCarthy, a Nanuet HS graduate and Ph.D. candidate in virology at Harvard Medical School and Dr. Sujit Sheth of Weill Cornell Medical College, guided her on her project, “Evaluation of Nucleotide Base Sequence Similarities of Blood Platelet Surface Proteins and Precursor Pathogens for Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (CITP).” 

Wallach studied “Prevalence and Prevention of Fractious Behavior in Canines” with his mentor, Richard Price of the Rockland County Department of Health. Weinman worked with her mentor Dr. Diana Van Lanker Sidtis of New York University and the Nathan Kline Institute in Orangeburg on “Evaluation of Formulaic Language in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.”

They will be competing in the Westchester-Rockland Junior Science and Humanities Symposium on February 8th at John Jay High School. The four students have also entered the INTEL Science Talent Search (STS), often referred to the Nobel Prize for high school science, which announce its semi finalists in January. Approximately 2,000 research entries were submitted for the INTEL STS. 

In 2003 and 2004, Nanuet students qualified as some of the INTEL STS 300 semi-finalists. In 2004, a Nanuet student was selected as a top 40 finalist. 

Wallach, Patel, Schucker, Weinman and all Nanuet ASR students including sophomores, juniors and seniors will attend the Rockland County Science, Inventions and Technology (SIT) Exhibition on Sunday, March 30th at North Rockland High School.

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