Ms. Rastogi (LAMP) Wins Gorgas (Alabama) and will compete as Finalist in National Science Talent Search

Ms. Rhea Rastogi, Loveless Academic Magnet Program (LAMP) won the Gorgas Scholarship Competition, Alabama’s top science competition for High School Seniors. The Competition was held Friday February 23 at Jacksonville State University (JSU), in Jacksonville, Alabama. Other finalists and Winners of the Gorgas Competition are listed on the attached Press Release.

Ms. Rastogi has also been named one of 40 finalists in the Regeneron National Science Talent Search and will compete in the Finals in Washington, D.C. March 7-11, 2024. The Regeneron Announcement of Finalists is attached.

Rhea Rastogi She/Her/Hers Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School ALABAMA Rhea Rastogi, 18, of Montgomery, explored whether errors in a type of genetic change known as histone methylation affected future generations for her Regeneron Science Talent Search cellular and molecular biology project. In our cells, DNA is wrapped around proteins called histones; methylation of histones is a mechanism that turns genes on and off. Rhea used the worm model C. elegans and focused on two enzymes, SPR-5 and MET-2, that are controlled by methylation and affect proper gene expression in newly fertilized eggs. Wanting to see if errors in this process affected future generations, Rhea found that offspring of worms missing either enzyme had developmental delays and decreased fertility, effects that accumulated  in later generations. With both enzymes missing, offspring had similar problems and severe difficulty detecting food. She found similar results in mammalian models and believes future research may be applied to human conditions, such as Kabuki-like Syndrome. Rhea founded and captains the Speech and Debate team at Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School and competes in the Science Olympiad. Her parents are Nitin and Deepali Rastogi. (Regeneron STS, 2024).

Gorgas Scholarship Competition

A Program of the Alabama Academy of Science

February 23, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

            Today the Gorgas Scholarship Committee announced the rankings of the finalists of the 2024 Alabama Science Scholar Search. The final competition was held during the 101^st Annual Meeting of the Alabama Academy of Science at Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, held on February 22^nd and 23^rd, 2024.

The winner of the first-place tuition grant of $4000 was:

Rhea Rastogi, LAMP High School, Teacher-Sponsor: Emily Castillo

First alternate and winner of a tuition grant of $3000 was:

Yiwen Wang, Northridge High School, Teacher-Sponsor: Alayna Townsend

Second alternate and winner of a tuition grant of $2000 was:

Abby Gobbels, Hoover High School, Teacher-Sponsor: Janet Ort

Third alternate and winner of a tuition grant of $1500 was:

Rishi Yellamraju, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Teacher-Sponsor: Hungsin Chin

Fourth alternate and winner of a tuition grants of $1000 was:

Madhushalini Balaji, James Clemens High School, Teacher-Sponsor: Kathryn Weir

Unranked Finalists:

The rankings were established by a panel of judges consisting of department heads, deans and professors from many of the leading universities and industries in Alabama.  Winners and finalists in the Gorgas Contest receive offers of tuition scholarships to colleges and universities in Alabama for the study of science.  The Gorgas Scholarship Program is named for General William Crawford Gorgas, the Alabama physician who conquered yellow fever in the Panama Canal Zone and later became the Surgeon General of the United States Army.  The purposes of the Gorgas competition are to promote interest in science and to aid in the education of promising students.

Information on the annual competition and awards may be found on the website at www.GorgasScholar.org.  For further information, contact: Ellen Buckner, PhD, RN, CNE,  Chairman, Gorgas Scholarship Competition, ellen.buckner@samford.edu OR ebbuckner@gmail.com, or by phone (205) 910-9877, (205) 726-2092.

Ashley Fulmer, Wetumpka High School, Teacher-Sponsor: Virginia Vilardi

Nicholas Godwin, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Teacher-Sponsor: Hungsin Chin

Eli Mrug, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Teacher-Sponsor: Vincy Lugemwa

Irene Park, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School (LAMP), Teacher-Sponsor: Phalanda Johnson

Deepakkumar Sathishkumar, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Teacher-Sponsor: Dreama White

Dmitriy Sazonov, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Teacher-Sponsor: Cecil Flournoy

Varsha Vinoy, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Teacher-Sponsor: Hungsin Chin