Edgemont excels at WESEF: 24 awards & two Grand Finalists
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Edgemont students earned an impressive 24 awards at the Regeneron Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF). Leading the way were Grand Finalists Gabriel Hwang and Kaushambi Roy whose outstanding projects in biochemistry and medicine ranked among the top 20 in the competition.
The competition, held at Somers High School on March 14, is the largest science fair in the country. Over 800 students competed, including 39 from Edgemont, in 22 categories include Animal Sciences, Behavioral & Social Sciences, Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Medicine & Health Sciences, Microbiology, Physics & Astronomy, Plant Sciences, and various engineering fields.
Edgemont’s WESEF 2026 Grand Finalists
- Gabriel Hwang, Biochemistry: “The Design and Synthesis of an I131 Labeled Rhodium Metalloinsertor Targeting MMR-Deficient Colorectal Cancer”
- Kaushambi Roy, Medicine: “A Phase One Novel Protein Mediating Insulin Independent Glucose Regulation Study in Papio Anubis Baboons”
“Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition!” said Edgemont Science Research teacher Talia Dardis. “Each of you demonstrated a strong command of scientific principles, and the creativity and critical thinking that define true researchers. It has been exciting to witness your growth—from the earliest stages of idea development to your polished presentations at WESEF.”
“We can’t wait to see the problems you solve and the future you help build,” said Lori Morton, PhD, Senior Vice President, Research, at Regeneron, who emceed the WESEF Awards. “The skills you have formed will endure.”
More exciting news for Edgemont’s Science Research program
In January, Vasu Jain and Ananya Shah were named Regeneron Scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026.
In April, Ananya Shah won top honors at the New York State Science & Engineering Fair, and qualified for the International Science & Engineering Fair.
WESEF Grand Finalists win an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair in Phoenix, AZ, in May, where they will compete for more awards with 1800 students from 80 different countries.
Edgemont students earned a total of 24 awards.
First Place
- Ananya Shah, Mathematics: “A Comparison of Precinct and District Voting Data Using Persistent Homology to Quantify Gerrymandering in Texas & California”
- Joya Ishak, Cellular and Molecular: “The Novel Function of cux1b in Hematopoesis: Insights into Myledodysplastic Syndrome and Acute Myeloid Leukemia”
- Kaushambi Roy, Medicine: “A Phase One Novel Protein Mediating Insulin Independent Glucose Regulation Study in Papio Anubis Baboons”
Second Place
- Megan Qu, Cellular and Molecular: “Combination ²¹²Pb Radioligand Therapy and pHLIP-STINGÉ‘ Immunotherapy for Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer”
- Arick Kanna, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics: “Accurately Predicting Progression Rate of Parkinson’s Disease with Machine Learning”
- Gabriel Hwang, Biochemistry: “The Design and Synthesis of an I131 Labeled Rhodium Metalloinsertor Targeting MMR-Deficient Colorectal Cancer”
- Chris Lin, Cellular and Molecular: “Improving CRISPR-Cas9 Targeted Gene Insertion for Genetically Modified Mice with a Sleeping Beauty Transposase DNA Binding Domain”
- Yashica Balasubramanian, Physics and Astronomy: “How Many Stars Does It Take to Calibrate the Universe? Refining the Age and Distance to Open Cluster NGC 2194”
Third Place
- Daniel Kang, Behavioral Science: “Bridging Minds Understanding Trauma and the Potential of TF-CBT Across Koreans”
- Siddanth Karthik, Computer Science: “Creating Multi-Dimensional Embeddings of Brain Scans to Identify Parkinson’s Progression Patterns”
Fourth Place
- Shashi Uppuluri, Behavioral Science: “The Implementation of AI in Investment Banks and Its Impact on Junior and Senior Bankers”
- Rahil Kumar, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics: “Clearing the Image: Identification of Candidate Biomarkers for Acute Myeloid Leukemia”
- Ben Sheynzon, Computer Science: “Improving MRI Image Quality Through Self-Supervised Denoising with Noise2Void”
- Raphael Sailer, Mathematics: “Graph-Based Multimodal Modeling for Real-Time Cyberbullying Detection in Video Game Text Chats”
Society for In Vitro Biology Award
- Cyrus Dalach
U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize
- Jonas Im
Innovations in Biological Sciences Research Award
- Amara Kaci
- Shirin Sadoughi
Ingenuity in Research Award
- Rohan Patel
- Arjun Rajdev
Teatown Young Environmentalist Award
- Evelyn Leung
Regeneron Biomedical Science Award
- Arick Kanna
Read more: Science Research students prepare for WESEF