Oceanside's Alexis Alfasi earns third place in STEM fair

Alexis Alfasi, an Oceanside High School junior, has been awarded third place at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, which is sponsored by Regeneron, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition.

This year at LISEF 66 schools participated with over 400 projects.

“Only the top 20 percent of projects are recognized in our region by placing first, second, or third in their categories,” said Alfasi’s teacher, Heather Hall, who serves as the Research Coordinator at the high school.

Alexis’ project was titled ‘The Effects of Mevastatin on 3p Loss and 3q Chromosome Gain’ which she researched while interning at Columbia University. “While interning at Columbia University, I tested the effects of statins, drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol, on cells with genetic mutations that frequently occur in cancer,” said Alfasi of her research.

She found that, “Statins have fewer adverse side effects than typical cancer treatments and would also be quick to distribute to the public since they are already approved by the FDA,” Alexis said.

“I found that these drugs have the potential to be effective cancer treatments, potentially adding to the anti-cancer toolbox of physicians,” she said.

Subsequent to her award at LISEF, Alfasi also took third place at the New York Science and Engineering Fair.