Pine Crest Science Research Students Gain Hands-On Experience at Leading Research Institutions

Pine Crest Upper School students in the three-year Science Research Program spent their summer conducting research alongside scientists, engineers and medical researchers at universities, laboratories, observatories and research centers across the country.

From artificial intelligence and astrophysics to neuroscience, biomedical engineering and cancer research, students applied their classroom learning to real-world scientific questions while gaining hands-on experience in professional research environments.

Some of the research conducted this summer includes:

Koray Abramson ’27 worked at the MORE Foundation at The CORE Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, testing a markerless motion-capture system he developed to study how patients walk as they recover from osteoarthritis surgery.

At the University of Miami’s Center for Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research, Kayan Amanat ’28 analyzed cardiac organoids, or lab-grown “mini hearts,” measuring key proteins involved in healthy heart function.

Morgan Cole ’28 conducted astrophysics research at the Sparks Farm Robotic Observatory at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, studying the shapes and structures of star clusters to better understand how stars form and evolve.

At Loyola University Chicago, Erika Diaz-Padua ’28 investigated how gut stem cells in fruit flies develop into different cell types following tissue damage.

Several students conducted biomedical research in South Florida. Genevieve Driscoll ’27 worked at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, engineering CAR-T immune cells designed to recognize and attack mantle cell lymphoma. At the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Mia Levin ’27 prepared samples for RT-PCR to study the amplification of specific genes.

Students at Florida Atlantic University explored research across a range of scientific disciplines. Dean Kathein ’28 tested epoxy combined with nanoparticles to determine whether the resulting material demonstrated increased toughness and durability, while Anish Kaza ’28 worked with microphones and electronics to determine the location of sounds through direction-of-arrival testing.

Gabby Meinbach ’28 analyzed infant EEG recordings in FAU’s WAVES Emotion Lab to investigate how early experiences influence brain development. Maddie Schwartz ’27 used immunoblotting to examine changes in key signaling proteins in Huntington’s disease brain cell models. Nicole Sibileva ’28 studied how dexamethasone affects brain development and stress hormone signaling in zebrafish.

These summer experiences are an integral part of Pine Crest’s three-year Science Research Program, providing students with opportunities to develop technical skills, work alongside professional researchers and deepen their understanding of the scientific research process.

Through hands-on investigation in fields ranging from human health and engineering to space science and artificial intelligence, Pine Crest students are gaining the experience and perspective to pursue increasingly sophisticated research questions and explore future pathways in STEM.