High School East senior, Daanish Bassi, earned first place in his category of Cellular & Molecular Biology at the regional Long Island Science & Engineering Fair (LISEF).
The win earns Daanish the coveted ticket to the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Columbus, Ohio. Over 2,000 students from around the world will gather to compete with their scientific research in 22 categories.
Daanish's research titled, "Assessing Novel RIPK2-MKK7 Interaction Inhibitors in Prostate Cancer Cell Lines," focused on investigating the inhibition of a protein-protein interaction in a lethal disease, metastatic prostate cancer.
According to Ms. Zeitlin, Smithtown East science research coordinator, "Daanish has a keen understanding of his research after spending a year reading primary journals and conducting experiments. His grasp of science is impeccable, and I am so proud that he is being recognized for his extraordinary content mastery."
SCSD Director of Science, Dr. Stephanie O'Brien, echoed Zeitlin’s sentiments. "To see Daanish achieve both Regeneron Semifinalist status and now a spot at ISEF is truly inspiring!” O’Brien said. “His research on metastatic prostate cancer, a disease that hits far too close to home for many, is groundbreaking. Daanish's dedication to unraveling complex molecular pathways is a testament to what students in our research program are capable of."
Picture Left to right: Richard Chai (Honorable Mention), Daanish Bassi (1st place), Tiffany Chung (Honorable Mention), and Maria Zeitlin
