Thomas Cong
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Society for Science (the Society) announced that Thomas Cong, of Ossining High School, won second place in the Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) 2024, America’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.
Second place and $175,000 went to Thomas Cong, 17, of Ossining, NY for investigating the rapid growth of certain cancers and whether information controlling metabolism is primarily controlled by the expression of genetic information. He found that immune cancers have pronounced differences in metabolism and gene expression, which suggests that a more complex landscape of metabolic variation exists and gives further insight into cancer studies.
Sixth Place: Christopher Zorn, 17, of Irvington, NY received a $80,000 award for investigating the relationship between RET, a gene involved in cellular signals, and MYC, a set of genes that regulate cell growth and death. He created genetically altered lung cancer cell lines, exposed them to various drugs and measured the MYC protein levels, which appeared at elevated levels and were shown to lead to treatment resistance. His findings suggest paths for further drug research targeting both RET and MYC.
The competition, now in its 83rd year, has consistently identified young innovators who become tomorrow’s STEM leaders. More than $1.8 million was awarded to the finalists, who were selected from among the largest entrant pool since the 1960s through a holistic evaluation process.
“Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search and to all the brilliant finalists,” said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., co-Founder, Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron, and a top winner in the 1976 STS.
“My own participation in the Science Talent Search during my high school years sparked a lifelong commitment to science and set me on my path of inventing and developing new medicines for previously untreatable diseases. Our finalists are only beginning their journeys, and their extraordinary achievements at such a young age give me hope that they will go on to deliver major innovative breakthroughs that will greatly benefit humanity.”
