Floral Park Memorial High School Science Research has been awarded its first-ever mini-grant from New York Institute of Technology. Senior high research teacher Brianne Maser applied for the grant on behalf of the research team students Julia Cernjul, Maya Goss, Hammad Izhar and Gwynne Smith.
The students are researching the frequency of culex and culiseta mosquitos at Belmont Park. They visited Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to conduct the “wet lab” component of their independent research project on Jan. 20. After collecting specimens in the field, students extracted and purified DNA, and amplified and characterized target genes using advanced molecular genetics techniques. DNA samples will be sequenced to allow students to positively identify collected specimens. Results from this project will applied to future research competitions.
