This week, Middlesex senior Leo Dong ’19 was named a 2019 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar. Leo was selected as one of the 300 top competitors out of a pool of nearly 2,000 entries nationwide for his project titled “netDAE: Novel Feature Learning Method of Gene Expression Data Based on a NetworkEnhanced Denoising Autoencoder.”
Further information about the Talent Search can be found on its official website: The Regeneron Science Talent Search (Regeneron STS) is the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition. Alumni of STS have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world’s most coveted science and math honors, including the Nobel Prize and National Medal of Science. Annually, students entering the Regeneron STS compete for more than $3.1 million in awards.Each scholar, selected from 1,964 entrants, receives a $2,000 award with an additional $2,000 going to his or her respective school, resulting in $1.3 million in total scholar awards from Regeneron. The 40 finalists chosen to compete in Washington, D.C in March will be announced on January 23.
Science Talent Search alumni have gone on to have world-changing careers in science and earn more than 100 of the most esteemed science and math honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes, 42 National Academy of Sciences Members, 19 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, 13 National Medals of Science and 5 Breakthrough Prize Winners.
Guided by the belief that scientific advances are key to solving global challenges, Society for Science & the Public founded the Science Talent Search in 1942, providing a national stage for the country’s best and brightest young scientists to present original research to nationally recognized, professional scientists.