Students Launch New Year of Research and Discovery

10/28/2026

To WESEF and beyond! This year’s Science Research Program is underway, bringing together 36 students in grades 10–12 who are exploring their interests and pursuing research opportunities under the guidance of Kristina Gremski, the program’s director.

Tackling subjects including biology, neuroscience, oncology, behavioral science and linguistics, students are preparing for competition in a number of prestigious science fairs, such as WESEF (Regeneron Westchester Science & Engineering Fair), in late winter and spring.

Gremski is looking forward to the year ahead. “I love the energy of science fairs, and I’m excited that this year’s group will present in a wide variety of categories,” she said.

Junior Emily Mirkin, who has always been drawn to space science, is working on her project “Planets Through Time: Investigating the Impact of Evolution on sub-Neptune Composition Inferences.” She is also on track to have her name in three professional science publications this year.

“Often, I need that reminder that there is a whole reality beyond Earth and our daily routines,” Mirkin explained. “What ultimately brought me to exoplanet research is that it allows me to combine my interests in astronomy, planetary science and Earth science. This intersection lets me engage in rigorous research across scientific fields while pondering deep philosophical questions.”

Taking her interest in women’s health to the next level, senior April Wang has focused her research on aging, specifically menopause. Her project is titled “From Lactation to Menopause: In Silico Analysis of Maternal Brain Hormone CCN3 Coreceptor Suppression in Osteoporosis.”

“I was fascinated by how the body naturally rebuilds bone after lactation, which made me wonder if similar bone-building signals might be weakened during menopause,” Wang said. “Using computational tools, I set out to investigate whether aging bone might experience a receptor bottleneck and designed a microRNA inhibitor to explore if restoring that signal sensitivity is theoretically possible.”

Gremski said, “April’s level of independence in conceptualizing her research question and carrying out all analysis is similar to an early Ph.D. student.”

As Wang kicks off her third and final year of science research at Masters, she took a moment to reflect: “What I enjoy most is the freedom to investigate meaningful scientific questions independently. The program has helped me build strong analytical skills and taught me how to approach complex biological problems like a professional researcher.”