By: Carys Doyle, Penncrest High School

For my study, I examined the effects of external academic pressures on the mental health of high school students in the United States. I analyzed three common pressure groups: teachers, parents, and peers. To do this, I released a questionnaire to students at a 9-12 United States high school and then analyzed the correlations between their levels of perceived pressure and their mental health status. At the conclusion of my study, although not statistically significant, I found that as external academic pressure increases, the mental health of high school students decreases.

By: Juliette Carson, High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering

This paper seeks to identify and understand the neuroimmunological impacts of Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) on neurologic degeneration, effect on proper functioning of the immune system and the conditions’ effects on the body on a molecular level.By doing extensive research, I found that Long COVID and ME/CFS have more overlap than just mutually affecting each other, but the very nature of the conditions are very similar and have similar effects on the body.

By: Aleena Bacorro, Winsor School

Mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer that is typically caused by exposure to asbestos. Despite the proven carcinogenic effects of asbestos, many countries still produce, export, and/or import asbestos. In this review, I studied Kazakhstan, one of the world's largest asbestos producers, to better understand why a nation continues to be a part of the global asbestos production industry, and, why the asbestos industry continues to thrive. In order to do so, I read articles, analyzed death rates, and investigated economic trends. Eventually, I learned that the asbestos industry places countries in a vicious cycle where, despite the negative effects of manufacturing asbestos, nations may find that the economic advantages of continuing to export the substance outweigh the costs. The industry has trapped governments into investing in a product that, if left unchecked, can cause a mesothelioma epidemic in communities that do not yet have the means to treat it.

By: Aleena Bacorro, Winsor School

The ultimate goal of this project, no matter the result, to see if there were alternative, cost-effective, and/or accessible ways to treat bacterial infection that didn't require a doctor's prescription. I always knew I wanted to study Staphylococcus aureus due to its mutation into MRSA, a deadly flesh-eating bacterium. Unfortunately, due to institutional and legal restrictions, I had to substitute S. aureus for S. epidermidis, a non-pathogenic but otherwise identical bacterium. From there, I tried three substances that can be found in a local grocery store against bacitracin, an over-the-counter drug and mupirocin, a prescription drug. Eventually it was found that bacitracin, due to antibiotics resistance, was less effective than tea tree oil, one of the tested substances but was just as, if not a little less, effective than the other two tested substances. Furthermore, despite mupirocin continuing to be the most effective substance, there is some hope that tea tree oil could be effective as well.