Science research students participate in showcase

This article was written by Amber Bhutta, class of 2019.

In recent weeks, American Heritage science research students endeavored to tackle a few world problems and participated in the 2017 Sigma Xi Research Showcase.

In the words of the official website, Sigma Xi is “an international, multidisciplinary community of science and engineering professionals dedicated to research excellence, to promoting public engagement with science and to fostering the next generation of researchers.” The organization allows students to contact and interact with professionals in their scientific fields of interests in order to further their own scientific pursuits.

Sigma Xi hosted a Research Showcase from Dec. 9 to Apr. 14 in which participants submitted websites detailing their projects, including a student-made video component that challenged students to articulate the results of their projects. Various prizes were awarded either by a panel of judges or by public vote. Students Eniya Krishnaraj, Nicholas Distefano, Nithya Kasarla, Padmavathi Reddy, Satya Alagarsamy, Valentina Ortega, Stefan Abi-Karam, Abithya Krishnaraj, Emily Pallack, Diya Jayram, Lauren Waldman, Hemangi Rajpal, Mikhal Ben-Joseph, Anam Ahmed, Sean Teng, Trishala Kumar, and Ephraim Oyetunji participated in the competition. Sophomore Nicholas Distefano was awarded the People’s Choice Award as his project received the most votes.

“My project was testing to determine the effects of dietary supplements that claim Nrf2 activation in humans of SKN-1 in C. elegans,” Distefano said. In basic terms, his project involves using certain dietary supplements to attempt to improve the immune response.

“I got the idea from a professor that spoke to us before summer research started. Not long after, I fell in love with the topic and its significance,” he said.

After a nearly two week voting period in which science research students showcased their websites and amassed public votes from their peers, Distefano received enough votes to win the People’s Choice Award, which includes a $250 cash prize and Sigma Xi recognition. To view his website, click here.