Over the summer, several Garden City High School students took their research beyond the classroom and participated in highly selective programs while conducting work in science, history and neuroscience.

GCHS senior Taylor Maguire participated in the Garcia Research Scholars Program, a seven-week residential research program at Stony Brook University. Taylor’s research focused on the potential use of biomaterial substrates to help mitigate titanium nanotoxicity in human bone cells, specifically examining titanium nanoparticle release from dental implants. Her group also published two abstracts exploring how titanium dioxide nanomaterials influence blood vessel formation using fluorescent cellular models.

“Working with like-minded students from across the globe under faculty and graduate mentors, as well as presenting at our end-of-summer seminar, expanded my view of the field of science and opened my mind to new possibilities in STEM,” Taylor said.

"Taylor was a leader in her group at Stony Brook, her experiments were publication quality, and as a past ISEF finalist, her presentations showcased her talent!" said GCHS science research teacher Dr. Steve Gordon. “Taylor’s four-year dedication to research is inspiring.”

GCHS science research senior Amanat Deviki Jain participated in the Student Historian Internship Program at The New York Historical, where she was the only student selected from Long Island. Amanat examined more than 100 archival documents to develop original research on 19th-century religious liberty and women’s rights. She turned her findings into a five-episode Spotify podcast and an accompanying educator curriculum designed to make complex humanities research accessible to a broader audience.

Amanat’s research also builds on an original legal-historical research paper submitted to The Concord Review, in which she analyzed more than 15 Supreme Court cases and other legal documents to explore how marital expatriation laws shaped citizenship, gender and immigration history in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Amanat also represented Nassau County at Empire Girls State after being selected by the American Legion Auxiliary. She was elected governor, the program’s highest office, and helped develop a mock state government and draft legislation.

“Amanat’s research-based historical discoveries used her ISEF Award-winning skills and highlighted her talent for developing creative and novel projects with broad societal significance,” Dr. Gordon said.
GCHS student Grace Kumpel continued her research for a second summer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. In 2025, she worked in the lab of Dr. Clifford Saper, an endowed professor of neurology and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. This summer, Grace continued her research through a collaboration between the labs of Dr. Saper and Dr. Natalia Machado, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard who specializes in brain circuitry related to thermoregulation.

Grace performed immunohistochemistry on microglia and neurons while assisting with projects focused on Alzheimer’s disease, circadian function, thermoregulation and neuroinflammation. She hopes to build on this experience by pursuing neuroscience and mathematical analysis to explore brain circuitry and its potential implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
"Grace displayed her research talents in assisting with cutting-edge research, using complex techniques, during the summer at Harvard" Dr. Gordon said. “All three seniors are role models of excellence for all students in the GCHS science research program.”

The GCHS Science Research Program continues to provide students with the skills, mentorship and opportunities to pursue meaningful work beyond the classroom and prepare for future success in college and beyond.