South Huntington, New York – Miah Margiano is a senior at St. Anthony High School who has had big dreams for over a decade. However, she was still ecstatic when she received the phone call.
“I basically yelled after she finished, even though I kept my composure when I answered,” Margiano said.
Margiano is one of 40 finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search – the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science competition.
“She is not only seen for her exceptional research, but she is also seen as a scientific leader of the future,” said Maya Ajmera, Executive Director of the Science Society.
That’s because, for Margiano, fighting childhood cancer isn’t just an academic obsession—when she was just seven years old, she needed a life-saving bone marrow transplant to treat her leukemia.
“When people get horrible diseases, she always tries to get an explanation why, right? I think she has a mission in life,” Margiano’s mother, Michelle Ricourt, said.
The assignment became another fight against pediatric neuroblastoma – because when Margiano spent two months at Ronald McDonald’s house, she met a very special friend.
“We had a sleepover, dinner, watching movies, and unfortunately, a year after I met her, she passed away,” Margiano said. “So I discovered this genetic component and linked it to the process that might be associated with better neuroblastoma survival.”
Her advisors at St. Anthony’s are also pleased, as she is the first of their school to get this far.
“I put my first student through this competition in 1982, and it’s the absolute best,” said Paul Pino, director of science research at St. Anthony’s.
She was actually accepted into the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.
Margiano will head to Washington, D.C., in March where she will compete against other Regeneron finalists. You’ve already made $25,000 just for making it this far. The first prize in the competition is a quarter of a million dollars.
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