Fifteen seniors enrolled in the Schiff Family Science Research Institute (SRI) at The Summit Country Day School recently completed a rigorous scientific research program begun during their junior year.

SRI is a two-year program that offers the chance for students to gain field experience in the sciences; seniors worked alongside professionals to conduct summer research in a variety of industries and subjects.

At the 9th annual colloquium in January, they formally presented their findings, methodology and analysis. The colloquium drew a large audience of students, parents, program mentors, faculty/staff, Summit board members and former board members. Nicole Heard came with her daughter, senior Reagan Heard, to support the presenters.

“It’s just amazing what these kids have done,” she said. “I’m a pharmacist so I was especially interested in the presentation on diabetes.” Ana Leyendecker ‘23 studied whether Type I diabetes patients and their caregivers possess adequate health literacy and numeracy to self-manage care.

“I was amazed by the presentations, but I didn’t expect anything less from The Summit,” Mrs. Heard continued. “Reagan chose Summit specifically because of the science program.”

The stages of SRI include identifying a subject of interest, conducting summer research, analyzing findings, preparing journal formatted research papers and poster presentations and finally presenting an overview of their projects at the colloquium.

Congratulations to these students and their mentors. To inquire about mentorship, contact SRI director Dr. Jessica Replogle at 513-871-4700 ext. 360.

Ali Burns ‘23 and Dr. Fabiano G. Nery with University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience: Neuroimaging Spectroscopy

Lillian Charville ‘23 and William Miller with University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Department of Molecular Genetics: Preparation of Human Cytomegalovirus Nanobodies

Alaina Fisher ‘23 and Dr. Kathryn Kalafut with Tracks Technology: Penguin Behavior Analysis and RFID Verification

Angela Good ‘23 and Dr. Min Dong with Children’s Hospital Medical Center Division of Clinical Pharmacology: Verification of a Sickle Cell Anemia Dosing App

Lavina Grzymajlo ‘23 and Jeff Pearson with Platte Architecture + Design: Historical Preservation in Van Wert, Ohio

Maya Hajjar ‘23 and Dr. Joseph F. Clark with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation: Brain Symmetry Analysis in College Athletes

Rimel Kamran ‘23 and Drs. Alexander Starodub and Kaitlyn Spinella with The Christ Hospital Cancer Center: Barriers to Enrollment in Clinical Trials

Derek Kuang ‘23 and Dr. Philippe Giabbanelli with Miami University Department of Computer Science & Software Engineering: Analysis of the Spread of Rumors and Fake News

Chloe Lane ‘23 and Dr. Kathryn Morris with Xavier University Biology Department: Chemotaxis Video Analysis Development

Ana Leyendecker ‘23 and Dr. Bliss Magella with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Department of Endocrinology: Health Literacy and Numeracy in Type I Diabetes Patients and Caregivers

Evan Mescher ’23 and Kevin Lee of Illumine Transportation: Urban Intersection Improvements

Anna Reineck ‘23 and Sarah Couch with University of Cincinnati Department of Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Dietetics: Impact of DASH Diet on Added Sugar Consumption in Adolescents with Hypertension

Leo Schrantz ‘23 and Matt Trombly and Kyle Kershner with Renegade Materials Corp: Creating an Excel Tools to Analyze Temperatures

Larkin Woodward ‘23 and Geoffrey Grant with Brown and Caldwell: Measuring PFAS Contamination in Wastewater Facilities

Selena Xie ‘23 and Dr. Peng Zhang with University of Cincinnati Department of Chemistry: Developing a Smartphone Colorimetric Assay Analysis Method