Somers students showcase ISEF, state and international science wins at board meeting

At the Somers Central School District board meeting, faculty and four student researchers presented recent achievements from the district's science research program, which faculty said now draws local, state and national attention.

Dr. Melia, who leads Somers'science research, told the board the program enrolls about 70 students and that Somers recently hosted a large regional fair (WESEF) with 827 projects. He said Somers students earned outsized results this year: two national STEM finalists, two students invited to the SUNY Albany invitational who took first and second in their categories, and multiple selections to international fairs. "The numbers don't lie," Dr. Melia said, urging the board to recognize the program's competitiveness and reach.

Students gave brief summaries of their work. Michaela Eagleton, an ISEF finalist, described laboratory experiments that recreated hydrothermal conditions to test the stability of uracil after meteorite impact, and said her work could help target biosignature searches on other planets. "I was able to find that uracil was actually more stable under a lot of these extreme hydrothermal conditions," she said.

Evan Aronoff summarized comparative clinical research on regenerative treatments for dry-eye disease and reported that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) produced broader improvements while Oxervate improved corneal nerve sensation. "With this research, I am turning dry eye disease from a trial-and-error into a data-driven care approach," he said.

Isabella Wissa described lab work modeling infantile spasms in rats and reported detecting the inflammatory biomarker HMGB1, a finding she said could inform non-steroid therapies. Rachel Lance described sex differences in mitochondrial markers in a Parkinson's mouse model and cautioned that differential DAT expression could affect diagnostic scans and timing of treatment for women.

Board members and administrators praised the program and encouraged community attendance at an upcoming district science fair and a May 7 symposium showcasing student work. The presentations concluded with applause and board thanks to faculty and parent volunteers who support the program.

Next steps: students will compete at national and international fairs in the coming weeks, and the district invited the public to the May symposium and the Somers Science Fair.