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Two Regeneron (formerly Intel) Science Talent Search Semifinalists!

Regeneron STS
We are proud to announce that two Commack seniors are semifinalists in the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search (formerly sponsored by Intel): Abbigayle Cuomo and Jordan Cooper. More than 1,700 students entered this prestigious competition and only 300 are selected for the “scholars” level. Each scholar receives a $2000 award with an additional $2000 going to our school. 

Abbigayle’s project is titled, “A Study of Westward Recurving Tropical Cyclone Tracks in the Atlantic.” The focus of her project was to analyze the tracks of hurricanes that recurve in the westward direction, as Hurricane Sandy did, and those that recurved eastward as they travel north to determine if there were any features that might identify the direction of recurvature for the purposes of developing a predictive model. Abbigayle did find a pattern related to the presence of high pressure systems that could potentially improve cyclone forecasting. Abby has earned many other science honors during her high school career, including being named a national semifinalist in the Siemens Competition. She is an active volunteer, athlete, and a member of four honor societies.

Jordan’s project is titled, “The Efficacy of a Rational Combination of BCL6-BTB and Survivin Inhibitors in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma.” Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and approximately 40% of patients are resistant to current chemotherapy treatments for this type of cancer. The purpose of Jordan’s study was to determine the efficacy of a combination of two types of inhibitors in DLBCLs. He analyzed drug combinations to determine the extent of the synergistic effect and found that there were combinations that were significantly more effective than either drug alone. Jordan conducted much of his research at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is multi-talented and has won awards in history, science, world language, and social studies. He also took first place at the NYS ISEF Science and Engineering Fair in Translational Medical Science.

“Our students are incredibly gifted,” said Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Donald James. “The topics Abby and Jordan chose to study led to amazing revelations and novel new approaches to medical and climatic issues.  Their analytic prowess and persistence is inspiring to all of us, and we’re thrilled that their hard work is being recognized on an international level. I would also like to congratulate the entire team of professionals who supported these students throughout the research and application process: Mr. Richard Kurtz, Dr. Lorraine Solomon, Ms. Jeanette Collette, Dr. Daniel Kramer, and Mrs. Andrea Beatty.”