(South Orange, NJ—September
25, 2017) Five High Tech High School students, along with Dr. Dmitri Lavlinski,
attended a poster session at Seton Hall University, organized by the North
Jersey Section of the American Chemical Society, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella,
Principal of High Tech.
These
students, members of the American Chemical
Society’s Project SEED summer research program, gained valuable hands-on
experience on the frontlines in top research laboratories.
High Tech
senior Umar Mohammed, a resident of Bayonne, became a top
winner for his research on “The Effect of Shear Stress on the Proliferation of
Human Osteoblast Cells” while under the mentorship of Dr. Woo Lee at Stevens
Institute of Technology.
The Project SEED program also recognized a High
Tech junior, Reika Hayashi, also from Bayonne, with second place for her
research on the “Examination of Pathogenic Bacteria Biofilm Attachment on Soft
Contact Lenses” under the mentorship of Dr. Meriem Bendaoud at New Jersey City
University.
Another High
Tech senior, Anna Rezk, also from Bayonne, continued her work under the
supervision of Dr. Woo Lee at Stevens Institute, producing “Identifying CD138+
Multiple Myeloma Cells Adhered to Endosteal Osteoblasts.” Rezk’s brother, John,
also a senior and under the mentorship of Dr. Simon Podkolzin, performed
research at Stevens as well on “Conversion of Acetic Acid into Gaseous Products.”
Both Rezk siblings earned third place awards.
Senior Shelina
Chotrani, a SEED scholar from Secaucus who placed first in the poster competition, secured a research mentor, Dr. Tianning Diao,
by herself. She worked at New York
University over the summer on “Synthesis of Alpha Diimine Ligands Towards the Goal
of Ni-mediated Asymmetric Catalysis.”
The American Chemical Society’s Project SEED summer research
program allows those students from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods to
experience the intriguing, highly dedicated routines of a chemist. Students entering their junior or senior year
in high school work alongside scientist-mentors on special research projects in
industrial, academic, and federal laboratories, where the students can discover
chemistry firsthand as a career path as their graduation approaches.
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| Shelina Chotrani |
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| Umar Mohammed |
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| Anna Rezk |
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| John Rezk |
