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Nine seniors from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics have been named among 300 students nationwide by the Society for Science as 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars. The students were selected from a record-breaking number of applicants that totaled nearly 2,500 entrants from almost 800 high schools internationally. Each scholar will receive $2,000 for this recognition, with an additional $2,000 for each NCSSM scholar awarded to the school.
Of the 300 scholars, 40 will be named Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists on Jan. 23. Those finalists will move on to a week-long competition (March 6-12) in Washington, D.C., where they will compete for more than $1.8 million in awards.
Students from NCSSM have placed in the top tiers of the Science Talent Search every year they have participated, with almost 100 being named Scholars in the last 12 years alone. Such consistent success is a testament not only to the talents of NCSSM’s students, but to the dedication and skill of the school’s faculty who have all, in ways large and small, played a role in fostering the development of future innovators.
“Congratulations to the 300 scholars in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO, Society for Science and Executive Publisher, Science News, and herself a member of NCSSM’s Class of 1985. “These exceptional young scientists and engineers represent the best in the nation. We are thrilled to celebrate their ingenuity, hard work, and passion for STEM.”
Congratulations to the following NCSSM students and their mentors. Eight of the scholars study in the Residential program on the Durham campus, and one is an NCSSM Online student:
Ava Grace Cummings (mentored by Kimberly Monahan)
Project Title: Musculoskeletal Effects of Tirasemtiv and Urtica dioica on Dstac Gene Knockdown in Drosophila melanogaster: Applications Toward STAC3 Disorder (Native American Myopathy)
Aretha Datta (mentored by Heather Mallory)
Project Title: Cloning the Anhydrobiosis Protein CAHS-89226 From Hypsibius exemplaris To Construct Desiccation-Tolerant Azotobacter vinelandii and Escherichia coli
Aditi Gopikrishna (mentored by Bob Gotwals)
Project Title: DEFT-FACT: Designing Effective Field Tests for Fentanyl Analogs With Computational Testing
Anneliese Heyder (mentored by Kimberly Monahan)
Project Title: Effects of Hypercholesterolemia and the Inhibition of the AGE-RAGE Pathway on Exopher Formation in C. elegans
Nihar Kummetha (mentored by Michael Bruno)
Project Title: Discovery of Aza-Stilbene as a Scaffold for a Histamine Receptor H₂ Antagonist for the Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Nayan Patel (NCSSM Online, mentored at Cary Academy)
Project Title: Spectral Asteroid Classification With Convolutional Neural Networks
Skyler Qu (mentored by Heather Mallory)
Project Title: Enhancing the Efficacy of Riparian Buffer Zones Using Native Grasses and Symbiotic Fungi in Relation to Overflowing Hog Waste in Rural North Carolina
Johnathan Strickland (mentored by Jonathan Bennett)
Project Title: Investigating the Morphologies of Local-Scale Dust Storms in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars
Anna Tringale (mentored by Heather Mallory)
Project Title: Investigating the Influence of Coal Ash Heavy Metal Leachate on Thyroid Hormone Concentration, Hormone Receptor Gene Expression and Spectral Sensitivity in Danio rerio
