Congratulations to Katherine St George, a 2020 Kennedy senior and member of the JFK Advanced Science Research Program.  Following a week of rigorous judging by top scientists and experts, Katherine was awarded 6th place in the Regeneron Science Talent Search; the judging of the 40 national finalists was completed virtually this summer.  

This year, Katherine was one of eight New York seniors to be named finalists in the STS (she was one of four from Long Island and one of two from JFK.  As the 6th Place national winner, Katherine is the recipient an $80,000 scholarship.  

Katherine's research on the concurrent effects of the ketogenic diet and caffeine on seizure susceptibility has important implications for the those afflicted with epilepsy.  Her independent research project is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work completed over the past three years in a laboratory at LIU Post where she was mentored by a professor in the biology department.  

According to District Science Department Chairman Robert Soel, “Katherine is truly an extraordinary young scientist and an inspiration to all of the students in the ASR program.  Her achievements in school and in research have been exceptional and we are confident she will continue to make meaningful contributions to science as she moves on to Columbia University in the fall.”

The district is also proud to share news of the scientific achievement of Andrew Brinton, a 2020 Kennedy senior and member of the ASR Program.  Andrew was also selected as one of the 40 national finalists in the 2020 Regeneration STS.  As a Regeneron Finalist, Andrew was also rigorously judged by top scientists this summer and he was awarded a $25,000 scholarship.  His research on the role of the ribbed mussel in salt mash stability and recovery has important implications for understanding and mitigating the effects of storm surge here on Long Island.  

Congratulations are also extended to Mrs. Barbi Frank.  Mrs. Frank is the science research teacher of both Katherine and Andrew.  Throughout their 3-year journey in ASR, she has guided and mentored both Katherine and Andrew as they developed their research ideas, conducted their investigations, and completed their scientific papers and comprehensive Regeneron STS applications.