Three Yorktown students named Regeneron Scholars

Months of research and experimentation earned three Yorktown High School students national recognition as Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars.

Only 300 students nationwide received the honor this year, and three – Jashvi Desai, Siddharth Nair and Willa Olson – were from Yorktown High School. Desai was among 40 finalists selected from more than 2,600 submissions. Scholars were recognized for originality, rigor and potential real-world impact.

Olson’s research explores the effect of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on the social behaviors and testosterone levels of the North American river otter. Nair developed a large-scale pipeline that uses machine learning and remote sensing data to detect plastic pollution. Desai’s project examines neuroinflammatory signatures and compensatory prefrontal mechanisms in Long COVID using ultra-high-field MRI and cognitive modeling.

Nair wants to make a difference in his local community—and beyond. His project tackled the challenge of identifying plastic pollution before it reaches the ocean.

“I developed a land-based plastic detection system using remote sensing. In Phase I, I tested five wavelengths of light and found that 560-nanometer green light provided the highest plastic visibility,” the 17-year-old explained. “In Phase II, I trained an object detection model using this wavelength, achieving an accuracy of 0.86, exceeding the detection threshold of 0.85.”

He hopes future work will expand the system to other plastics and parts of the Hudson Valley.

Nair was humbled by the recognition and thanked the co-directors of the high school’s science research program, Paul Rubeo and Justin Seweryn, as well as his research mentors, parents, and a fifth-grade teacher who, he said, inspired him.

In the fall, Nair will attend Carnegie Mellon University to study computer science. He plans to focus on robotics and computer science and is considering a minor in electrical engineering.

“I want to be a computer scientist that actually makes a difference for society, not just money,” he said.

Desai, 18, took on a very different but equally pressing problem—lingering neurological effects of long COVID. Her project used ultra–high-field MRI scans and cognitive modeling to explore why many patients experience persistent brain fog and memory issues.

“I was interested in this project because many people with long COVID experience persistent brain fog and memory problems, but there’s still very little clarity on what’s actually happening in the brain,” she said.

Her research identified structural brain changes consistent with inflammation rather than neurodegeneration and suggested that patients may rely on the prefrontal cortex to compensate for disruptions elsewhere.

The recognition, Desai said, was especially meaningful. She expressed gratitude to her mentors, family, and peers, who paved the way for her to pursue research and chase her goals.

“I was honestly stunned but very, very grateful. I’d spent so long focused on the process and the science itself that I hadn’t let myself think about outcomes,” she said. “Finding out felt validating, not just for the results, but for all the late nights, dead ends, and moments where I wasn’t sure the project was going anywhere.”

Desai will head to Johns Hopkins University this fall to study biomedical engineering. She plans to pursue a career in medicine and focus on translational research.

Olson focused her research on the North American river otter where she examined how pollution may be altering otter behavior and hormone levels. The 17-year-old studied otters at three habitats across the country with varying levels of pollution, designing a methodology that used camera traps and recorded vocalizations to non-invasively analyze otter social behaviors.

She said she “found that otters living in areas with high EDC pollution produced 29 percent fewer aggressive calls, with these otters not even producing many aggressive call types necessary for mating” and added that she “wanted to discover whether widespread pollution is altering the behaviors that make otters so unique and so vital in their ecosystems.”

Olson said the recognition is motivation to continue learning and researching. She’s grateful for so many people, including her mentor Sarah Walkley who she said showed her “what a dedicated researcher looks like.”

In college, Olson said she hopes to expand her understanding of environmental science and continue research that “leads to real-world conservation solutions.”

As Regeneron scholars, the three students each received $2,000 awards for themselves and Yorktown High School. Desai and the other 39 finalists earned $25,000 and will compete for more than $1.2 million in awards during a weeklong March competition in Washington, D.C.

Interviews conducted by Yorktown Central School District