Smithtown SD - Congratulates Siemens Competition Regional Finalist Sanjay Palat and Semi-Finalist Angelina Seffens

HSE Research Program Coordinator Maria Trinkle, Sanjay Palat, SHS East Principal Ed ThompsonCongratulations to Sanjay Palat, a senior in Smithtown High School East’s Science Research Program coordinated by Ms. Maria (Zeitlin) Trinkle. In a press release issued on October 22, Sanjay is one of 94 students nationally, and one of only 13 students to place as a Regional Finalist in New York State.  Over 1400 projects were submitted to Siemens. Sanjay’s Project titled “Differentiation and Behavior of Dental Pulp Stem Cells in Hydrogel Scaffolds of Various Stiffnesses,” was conducted at Stony Brook University under the mentorship of Dr. Miriam Rafailovich. According to the Siemens Foundation, “The Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology recognizes remarkable talent early on, fostering individual growth for high school students who are willing to challenge themselves through science research. Through this competition, students have an opportunity to achieve national recognition for science research projects that they complete in high school. It is administered by The College Board and funded by the Siemens Foundation.” Sanjay’s project was a team effort with another student, Daryl Chang, from California. The two will compete at Carnegie Mellon University on the weekend of November 20.  According to Ms. (Zeitlin) Trinkle, Sanjay is a talented research student who has a natural gift for science. He has worked diligently to accomplish this wonderful achievement.

HSW Research Program Coordinator Dr. Joanne Figueiredo, Angelina Seffens, HSW Principal John CoadyAngelina Seffens has been named a Siemens Semi-Finalist.  Angelina worked with Rebecca Klahr from Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway.  The girls did their work at Stony Brook University under the guidance of Dr. Marcia Simon and Dr. Miriam Rafailovich.  Angelina has been a member of High School West’s Science Research Program under the direction of Dr. Joanne Figueiredo since her Sophomore year.  Her study is entitled “Single Cell Detection of Cancer and Ultraviolet Radiation Damage.”   The idea for Angelina’s project is based on changes that occur in cells as they progress towards cancer.  In order to study this progression, the properties of cells and their surroundings were analyzed using Atomic Force Microscopy.  Angelina and Rebecca found that cancer cells are softer than normal cells and that the extracellular matrix of cancer cells is harder than that of normal cells.  They then looked at the effects of Ultra violet light on both cancer and normal skin-type cells.  The data that they obtained indicates that UVA radiation has a large effect on these cellular properties and therefore on cellular mechanics.  This work may have important implications in providing a method for detecting cancer at the single cell level.