Senior Jason Sitt from the Lynbrook High School Science Research Program was recently designated as the first place winner in the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s 2019 Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship Essay Contest. Earning the top spot in the national contest earned Jason a $5,000 National Scholarship from the organization. 

The contest was open to college-bound high school seniors who had to describe how Alzheimer’s has affected their lives and share how they plan to make a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease in the future. Jason researched the disease during the summer of 2018 at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Here, he created his research project titled “Absence of Neuroprotective miR-219 Alters Synapse Quantification in Neuromuscular Junctions throughout Maturing and Aging Drosophila melanogaster.” Jason incorporated his knowledge from his research project into his essay for the contest. 

In addition, his outstanding research on Alzheimer’s disease also earned him first place in the Biochemistry and Physics category of the 2019 Neurological Surgery P.C. Health Science Competition at LIU Post this past May. Between his scholarship from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and first place award in the competition at LIU Post, Jason has received monetary awards totaling more than $10,000. 

The Lynbrook Public Schools congratulates Jason on an extraordinary year and wishes him the best of luck on his future endeavors as he attends the University of Virginia in the fall.