STUDENT RESEARCH SHOWCASE 2020 PRESENTATIONS

Physiology and Immunology

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: A Alternative Discovery
Alejandra Abramson, American Heritage School Plantation

This website is a presentation demonstrating all the research conducted the last 8 months over Hashimoto's thyroiditis and medication improvement combined with genetic engineering. This is suitable for the millions of people worldwide with this disease that are looking for a more convenient and healthier way to be treated.

The Use of Leica LV1 Scanner As a Pathology Diagnostic Tool
George Aquilino E Silva, American Heritage School Boca Delray

Validation experiment of telepathology.

Epidemiology of the Sesame Allergen
Frank Belette, Pine Crest School

My presentation is on a prevalence study of the sesame allergen across the United States. This study looks at correlations between the sesame allergy and comorbid conditions, race, and much more. The goal of this study is to present findings that would bolster public legislation that can be used to improve the quality of life of many sesame allergic individuals.

Effect of blueberry supplementation on vascular NADPH oxidases in diabetic mice
Jessica Bigley, Washington University in St. Louis

My project focuses on the vascular effects of blueberries and how berry anthocyanins affect NADPH oxidase (NOX) signaling in diabetic endothelial cells.

Generation of high quality pathological image data sets suitable for machine learning applications, using computationally inexpensive, open source, computer-based methods of histological stain normalization
Benjamin Chan, Bronx High School of Science

Cancer tissue images are not standardized variations in laboratory lighting and image capture conditions. This makes it a significant challenge to develop the large, standardized image datasets necessary to use machine learning for cancer diagnosis and research. Computer-based methods of color normalization exist but assessment and evaluation of such images is highly qualitative and lacks the consistency needed for large image databases. This project develops a quantitative method to assess and measure color normalization methods, and demonstrates the method by evaluating customized "tissue simulation" code I developed to improve color normalization results.

SPECT vs SPECT-CT: A Pilot Study of Clinical Utility
Andrew Chung, Pine Crest School

A study to determine the clinical utility of SPECT-CT compared to SPECT using Cardiac Catheterization as a benchmark.

Efficiency of Energy Consumption in the Aging Brain
Ivan Ge, Ward Melville High School

The project that I worked on aims to analyze the efficiency of energy consumption in the aging brain. Utilizing metabolomics analysis, the data regarding levels of hundreds of metabolites in the brain of both adult and aged mice were gathered. Energy-related metabolites were analyzed for changes between adult and aged mice when the brain is in a resting or active state. The end product of glycolysis, pyruvate, was substantially lower in the aged brain when compared with the adult brain during both states. This study can be applied to future research on brain metabolism as well as developing treatments for decreased functionality due to aging.

Intermittent Administration of an FDA-Approved Antibiotic Improves Motor Function in a Rat Unilateral Parkinson’s Disease Model
Ella Kasanga, University of North Texas Health Science Center

This presentation highlights the repurposing of an FDA-approved antibiotic, ceftriaxone, to determine its efficacy to reduce motor impairment in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease (PD). PD is an aging-related neurodegenerative disorder which presents with classical motor symptoms, reducing the quality of life of the affected individuals. With the expected exponential increase in the aging population within the next decade, the prevalence of PD will also increase. As such, disease-modifying therapies represent one of the greatest unmet needs. This project provides insight on the mechanism of motor impairment using a hemi-Parkinson’s model as well as identifies a potential drug candidate which may halt the neuropathological progression of PD.

The Functionality of Memory T Cells in Preventing AML Relapse in Patients Treated with a Fusion Vaccine
Skylar Kronrad, Pine Crest School

My research investigates the role of memory T cells when treating AML patients with an immunotherapy approach involving a patients dendritic cells fused to the patients tumor cells ex vivo administered to the patient as a vaccine.

Deep Learning Convolutional Neural Network to Diagnose Melanoma with High Accuracy
Siddharth Krishnakumar, Thomas Jefferson high school for Science and Technology

Skin Cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the United states and Melanoma is the deadliest of all the skin cancers. Out of the 5 million incidents of Skin Cancer diagnosed annually in the U.S., melanoma causes the most deaths. Melanoma kills an estimated 9,320 people in the US annually, and it is curable if diagnosed and treated early. The problem with an early diagnosis is that only highly trained dermatologists can accurately recognize melanoma skin lesions. Even expert dermatologists can diagnose melanoma with an accuracy of only 66%. Therefore, there is a need for automated dermoscopy analysis to identify melanomic lesions. Dermoscopy involves obtaining high-resolution magnified images by controlling light and removing surface skin reflectance. Many deep machine learning models based on Neural networks, such as Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), are currently deployed for automatic detection of melanoma from dermoscopy images. In this paper I propose a deep learning neural network architecture based on the modified AlexNet Convolutional Network to diagnose melanoma. My CNN implementation uses the Keras Python library on top of Google’s Tensor flow deep learning library, and I have used skin lesion image data released by the ISIC. My proposed deep learning neural network architecture achieved a training accuracy of 97.5% and a validation accuracy of 74%.

Immunosuppressive and Behavior: Do Tacrolimus, Sirolimus, and Leflunomide Have an Effect on Behavior?
Julian McQuirter, American Heritage School Plantation

My presentation discusses the effects of immunosuppressants on behavior using the three most commonly prescribed.

Comparing Diabetes Treatment Efficacy After Metformin
Flavien Moise, Council Rock High School North

The purpose of this project is to find out which diabetes treatments work best after metformin based on change of HbA1c and patient demographics.

Teratogenic Effects of Drosophila
Samara Rashid, American Heritage School Boca Delray

A look into whether chlorpromazine, a psychiatric drug, causes congenital malformations in Drosophila, to gain insight into whether something similar could occur in humans.

Use of 25(OH) cholecalciferol to inhibit the production of inflammatory cytokines by immune cells.
Alayka Reddy, Pine Crest School

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against nucleic acids and ribonuclear proteins. These induce chronic inflammation and the production of numerous cytokines responsible for many symptoms in SLE patients. Vitamin D is an important immunomodulating agent that downregulates cytokine production under inflammatory conditions. The aim of this research is to determine whether 25(OH) cholecalciferol will downregulate cytokine production in different immune cell subpopulations.

Dietary Fiber, Bile Acids, and the Microbiome: A Multi-Omics Look at Fiber-Induced Cholesterol Mitigation
Michael Tang, Saratoga High School

A showcase of the potential of multi-omics profiling, in the form of a study on the effects of dietary fibers on cholesterol, using statistical methods to analyze and model underlying metabolic processes.

The Effect of Augmented DNA-Damage Response by Type I Interferon Signaling on Interleukin-6 Production in RAW 264.7 Macrophages
Abby Wu, Bronx High School of Science

The study aims to extend upon the preceding research (Morales et al, 2017) of Type I IFN-dependent DNA damage response (DDR) with specific interests of downstream effects. Downstream effects of IFN-augmented DDR include the cytokine IL-6. Due to IL-6's versatile functions in multiple (including inflammatory) pathways and role in disease, the project mainly centers on the regulation of IL-6 by the Type I IFN-dependent DDR and it's kinases ATM and DNA-Pk. Goals of the current research include understanding the DDR downstream signaling pathway affecting inflammation as well as further defining the roles of DDR kinases in this pathway. In examining these mechanisms, I hope to pinpoint targets for treatment of diseases caused by IL-6 dysregulation such as rheumatoid arthritis or even cancer.

Promotion of Neovasculogenesis in Murine Cerebral Organoids by Targeting the FGFR, Tie2, and VEGF Signaling Pathways
Audrey Xie, American Heritage School Plantation

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of growth factors on vascularization of cerebral organoids.

STUDENT RESEARCH SHOWCASE 2020 PRESENTATIONS

Physiology and Immunology

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