The Herald Courier, Friday, January 13, 2017
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Continuing Herricks’ science strides Five seniors set school record for most semifinalists in Regeneron Science Talent Search BY N O A H M A N S K A R One project studied how to protect encrypted computer messages from hackers. Another could inform how geologists study rocks on Mars. And three others could have big implications for how to treat diseases, including some forms of cancer. The five Herricks High School seniors who made the semifinal round of the Regeneron Science Talent Search — a record number for the school — have wide-ranging scientific interests and varying reasons they chose their research projects. But Natalie Tan, Seta Mehtu, Nora Koe, Alan Chen and Bongseok Jung said they share an intense curiosity and a desire to learn more about the world around them. “By exposing yourself to different fields of research, you not only get to explore your passions for learning more things about the world, but also you get ... the additional benefit of helping others in the process,” Mehtu said. The students were among 16 Herricks seniors who applied to
PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
From left: Herricks High School seniors Alan Chen, Natalie Tan, Nora Koe, Setu Mehta and Bongseok Jung. the national contest for top high school science research students, said Renee Barcia, director of Herricks’ science research program. Regeneron, a Westchester County-based medical technol-
ogy company, named 300 “scholars” last week from high schools across the country, including 17 other students from the North Shore area. Forty finalists to be named Jan. 24 will compete for $1.8 million in awards in Wash-
ington, D.C., in March. The Regeneron contest isn’t the first stroke of success for Tan and Jung. Both were named to the semifinals of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology in the fall, a dis-
tinction Jung has gotten the past three years. He was named a finalist in 2015. The Herricks students have all been in the school’s science research program for four years and worked with professional research mentors at major New York City-area institutions, including Columbia University, Stony Brook University and Manhasset’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Motivated by the cancer deaths of three of his grandparents, Jung, an Albertson resident, embarked on a three-year study to find a safe and effective treatment for colon cancer. “All these labs, they had their own projects going and I just had to join in with their projects, whatever they were being funded for, so I was motivated to do my own research, start from the beginning, fund myself,” Jung said. He examined two drugs: COX 2 inhibitors, which target cancer cells effectively but cause side effects like intestinal bleeding, and Salacin, which has no Continued on Page 47