Who Am I?

I am a continuing sophomore at Raritan Valley Communit College, majoring in Biology, Information Technology, and Education. A 15-year resident of Basking Ridge in Somerset County, I graduated from Ridge High School in 2015. My research and leadership experiences span the gamut from community pharmacy and ecology to food science and land management. Recent research projects (detailed below) include: measuring antioxidant activity utilizing the Briggs-Rauscher assay, and determining stand-age using growth-ring counts of tree stumps to assess the accuracy of Forest Stewardship Plan data at Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area. I hope to one day work at the intersection of pharmaceuticals, ecology, and health science. Specifically I hope to research the impact of chemicals and pharmaceuticals on ecological systems and processes, such as water quality and soil composition. Aside from college, I am also a pharmacy technician at the Walgreens pharmacy in Stirling and a STEM Ambassador for the NJ Governor's STEM Scholars program.

Stand-Age Research:

1. Objectives:
• Compare the accuracy of Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) estimates of stand-age at Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) with counts of growth-rings of cut stumps at several logged stands
• Explain any differentials in stand-age by the crown classes of stumps used for measurement by using two different sampling methodologies
2. Background:
• Accurate assessments of stand-age are critical to forestry and ecological studies, especially for the development of forest management practices at the local and regional scale
• Given the historical decline in large-diameter and old-growth forest stands throughout NJ, any remaining older forest stands are critical in their ecosystem and habitat services
• Determine correlation relationships between age, basal diameter, and diameter at breast height (DBH)
3. Results:
• Stand-age using growth-ring counts was higher at two different stands than FSP estimates (12-31 years older at Stand 18 and 30 years older at Stand 2)
• Two locations sampled (outside the WMA) had higher stand-age using growth-ring counts than FSP estimates for nearby stands (Stand G east of Edison Pond was 36-46 years older than Stand 4/8 respectively, and Stand C at Lake Gerard was 33-38 years older than Stand 33)
• Sampling methodologies produced inconclusive differences in stand-age; differences were statistically significant at Stand 18 (a = 0.10, p = 0.0237), but not significant at Stand 33 (a = 0.10, p = 0.4524)
• Strong correlation between basal diameter and DBH (R² = 0.925)
• Weak correlation between basal diameter and stand-age based on growth-ring counts (R² = 0.367)

Antioxidant Activity Research:

1. Objectives:
• Analyze the effects of boiling duration and freezing action on antioxidant activity of food extracts using the Briggs-Rauscher (BR) assay
• Validate whether a photoconductive cell measuring changes in light level (a colorimetric device) can replace a traditional voltage sensor in measuring inhibition time of a BR assay
• Determine whether the BR can be used to assess the biostability of antioxidant compounds in low acidity environments
2. Background:
• Oxidative stress occurs when the production of free radicals exceeds the ability of the body to counteract their harmful effects via antioxidants, and is ascociated with a number of degenerative and nondegenerative conditions
• Research conducted as a 2016-2017 NJ Governor's STEM Scholar at NJIT's Chemistry and Environmental Science Department
• Research team included 5 high school students interested in a career in STEM
• Results presented to NJ Lawmakers and Aides at NJ STEM Week in Trenton and recognized at the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Awards at the Liberty Science Center in 2017
3. Results:
• Found that 20-minutes of boiling action at 100 ℃ decreased antioxidant activity in organic strawberry ethyl acetate extracts by 66.6%, of which 40% reduction occured in the first 5 minutes
• Photoconductive cell and PicoBoard integrated with MIT's Scratch 1.4 program was effective in capturing inhibition time, with a regressional accuracy >.90