Rebecca Finney

Hey there! Welcome to my page!

My name's Rebecca Finney and I'm a senior here at CHSN who joined the science research program as a junior two years ago. Through my time with science research, I learn to understand scientific literature and communicate with peers and colleagues in the scientific world. I hope to continue to research in college where the skills I learned here as a high school student will prove invaluable.

Why Science Research?

In the summer before my junior year, I completed a 6 week research program at University of Massachusetts Amherst. I studied the proliferation and differentiation of neural STEM cells, specifically in the hypothalamus, using zebrafish. I looked at the different signaling pathways involved in moving cells from stage of the cell cycle to the next and in causing STEM cells to differentiate. I also studied the effect of curcumin on cell proliferation by treating larval zebrafish with curcumin solutions and then counting the number of proliferating cells in the hypothalamic region and analyzing for a statistical difference between the control and treatment groups.

EdU+ and Oligodendrocyte Cells

This is an image of the ventral side of a larval zebrafish brain. Any cells fluorescing red are proliferating cells and any cells fluorescing green are oligodendrocytes.

UMass Summer Research Poster

Symposium Poster

This poster explains the methods, results, and conclusion of my research over the summer.

Once the research program ended, I decided that I wanted to continue with research and enrolled in the Science Research class at CHSN. I loved the learning and the process involved in research and found the skills I developed while researching to be important.

My Work in Science Research

Junior Year Mid-Year Presentation

Junior Year Final Paper

A review of various articles I had read throughout the year.

For most people, science research starts as a sophomore. However, I joined in my junior year and had to work hard to catch up to where my peers were. I spent my first year in science research learning to read through scientific journals and follow a researcher's work. I emailed professors about their work and applied to research programs and labs with the hope of achieving an internship position. Although COVID-19 threw my plans for a loop, I was still able to end the year with quantifiable work.

In my senior year, I continued to develop the skills I had learned through science research. I continued to read articles and at the end of the year, used these skills to write a paper on an entirely new topic. All the seniors in the class were presented with a list of general topics. We each then picked one topic and chose specific topics within those to research and read about. I chose bones as I have always loved to learn about anatomy and physiology.

Senior Year Final Paper

A review of various articles all pertaining to bones.

Future Plans

This August, I'll be attending Brooklyn College on a pre-med track and taking classes through the honors college there. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was young and my experiences through the years have only strengthened this desire. Pursuing a career in medicine allows me to help people and my community on a greater level than I do currently as an EMT while still developing personal connections with others.

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