Pine Crest Science Research Students Place First at Broward County Science Fair

Three Pine Crest Upper School science research students each earned first place at the virtual Broward County Science Fair recently, qualifying them to compete at the Florida State Science and Engineering Virtual Fair from March 28 to April 1, 2021.

The State Science and Engineering Virtual Fair recognizes the scientific talent and academic excellence of the top science research and engineering design projects from across the state of Florida. Finalists from 35 Regional Fairs will present their work virtually to professionals in their category discipline.

The three Pine Crest students developed their projects as part of the three-year science research program under the guidance of Ms. Jennifer Gordinier, Upper School science instructor. Congratulations, and best of luck to:

Shaurnav Ghosh ’22
State Finalist Category: Mathematics and Computational Science
Title: Determining the Optimal MRI Sequence for the Automatic Segmentation of Multiple Sclerosis using Convolutional Encoder Networks
Video Link
 
Shaurnav’s first place research uses a type of machine learning well suited for biomedical imaging segmentation tasks to rapidly segment brain MRIs of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. His research optimizes the current manual imaging methods used to characterize brain lesions associated with progressive demyelination and worsening skeletomuscular control over time. 

Sierra Stocker ’21
State Finalist Category: Engineering
Title: Using Electrical Stimulation to Provide Reliable Haptic Feedback in Virtual Object Classification Tasks
Video Link 

Sierra’s first place research investigates the use of dual channel surface electrical stimulation to the median nerve to improve an individual’s ability to classify objects using only haptic feedback to determine what type of objects the user is interacting with. Future application of this novel and noninvasive technique is designed to extend user experience, reliability, and responsiveness within a virtual reality environment.

Mahdere Yared ’21
State Finalist Category: Cellular/ Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Title: Investigating Differences in DRD4 Expression 
Video Link    

Interested in the mechanism of aging and neurodegenerative disease, Mahdere’s first place research seeks to investigate the role of a G-protein coupled receptor, dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) and its expression profile in young, Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and age controlled older brains. Mahdere’s results showed lowered DRD4 expression in AD samples relative to age-matched older samples suggesting a compensatory mechanism that is upregulated to maintain functional memories in older aged individuals, but lacking in AD individuals.