Rutgers Prep Students Present Research at NJ Academy of Science Annual Meeting

Rutgers Prep students presented their research at the 71st annual meeting of the New Jersey Academy of Science, held on Saturday, April 11 at Kean University.

Representing RPS were Keran Chen ’26, Mimansa Kumar ’26, AJ Pagano ’26, Eshaan Radhakrishnan ’26, Eehan Saqib ’26, Luka Birac ’27, Krishnav Sharma ’29, and Gabe Greiner ’27. They were joined by Kayo Odusote ’27, who attended and presented research completed during his summer program at Caldwell University.

During the event, students attended scientific talks and professional development opportunities and presented their research in poster format. Their work reflected a wide range of interests and disciplines, including molecular biology, environmental biology, bioinformatics, astronomy, and cancer research.

Congratulations to all of our students who presented at this year’s meeting, and especially to Kayo, who earned second place in Cell Biology and Molecular Biology for his project, “Evaluating BPF Toxicity on Metabolic and Neuronal Function in Caenorhabditis elegans.” His work also qualified him to present at the National Academy of Sciences conference.

The students’ projects were:

“Carbonic Anhydrase Expression in Worms in Low vs. Neutral pH Environments,” AJ Pagano ’26, Eshaan Radhakrishnan ’26, and Eehan Saqib ’26, Advanced Waksman Research

“Divergent Metabolic Responses in Taurine- and Betaine-Exposed Landoltia punctata,” Keran Chen ’26 and Mimansa Kumar ’26, Advanced Waksman Research

“Evaluating BPF Toxicity on Metabolic and Neuronal Function in Caenorhabditis elegans,” Kayo Odusote ’27, summer program at Caldwell University

“Structural Bioinformatics Study of 11 Human Mitochondrial Respiratory Integral Transmembrane Proteins and Their AlphaFold 3-Predicted Water-Soluble QTY Analogs,” Luka Birac ’27, Independent Research/Research Club

“The Effects of Atmospheric Turbulence on Azimuthal Stellar Scintillation,” Gabe Greiner ’27, Independent Research/Research Club

“Identification of PD153035 Targeting KRT19-Dependent Vulnerabilities in Esophagogastric Junction Adenocarcinoma,” Krishnav Sharma ’29, Independent Research/Research Club