The 2019 NSPC Brain & Spine Surgery Health Science Competition was an incredible experience for all. Over 200 teams with more than 275 students from 34 schools across Long Island competed in the only high school health science competition in the nation. These teams gathered at the Tilles Center at Long Island University Post to present their projects across five distinct categories of health science for their share of $80,000 in awards! The response to the competition was overwhelming and far exceeded anyone’s expectations, showing how strong of a connection to the study of medical advancements this region holds. Please read on for a list of our top finishers this year!
Bioengineering & Computational Biology
| 1st Place | Christopher Lu | John L. Miller Great Neck North High School |
| 2nd Place | Charlson Kim | Commack High School |
| 3rd Place | Jaekeun Sung | William A. Shine Great Neck South High School |
| 4th Place | Kaylie Hausknecht | Lynbrook High School |
| 5th Place | Odin Francis | Lynbrook High School |
Behavioral Sciences
| 1st Place | Feyi Rufai | Roslyn High School |
| 2nd Place | Faith Lee & Emily Ruttgeizer | Roslyn High School |
| 3rd Place | Gabrielle Fries | Roslyn High School |
| 4th Place | Ryan Qin | Ward Melville High School |
| 5th Place | Micah Golan & Cheryl Chang | Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School |
Health Related Biochemistry & Physics
| 1st Place | Jason Sitt | Lynbrook High School |
| 2nd Place | Harshini Suresh | Jericho High School |
| 3rd Place | Jacqueline Balestrieri & Sarah Siddiqui | St. Anthony’s High School |
| 4th Place | Nicole Blattman | Roslyn High School |
| 5th Place | Ariana Fang | Massapequa High School |
Biology – Microbiology & Genetics
| 1st Place | Michael Lawes | Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School |
| 2nd Place | Marvia Pressoir | Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School |
| 3rd Place | Sanjna Kedia | Manhasset Secondary School |
| 4th Place | Margarita Bogdanova-Shapkina | Oceanside High School |
| 5th Place | Kevin Chen | Smithtown High School East |
Biology – Medicine & Health
| 1st Place | Alessi Demir | Manhasset Secondary School |
| 2nd Place | Dylan Makani | North Shore Hebrew Academy High School |
| 3rd Place | Marguerite Li | Jericho High School |
| 4th Place | Laura Chu & Judy Zhou | Roslyn High School |
| 5th Place | Aden Horowitz | Manhasset Secondary School |
While these teams may have come out on top, every single team and project that entered was incredibly detailed and was the result of dozens of hours of hard work on the part of the students involved. Every team should feel accomplished and proud of their hard work and how far they made it to be able to enter into this groundbreaking competition. Everyone involved in making this competition happen is proud of the effort put in by the contestants, and hope these young innovators continue to utilize the curiosity they have inside to make the world a better place.