Neil Kamlesh Mehta
New York
Jericho Senior High School
Neil Kamlesh Mehta, 17, of Jericho, entered a biochemistry project in the Intel Science Talent Search investigating the effects
of a gene mutation associated with schizophrenia on a protein of neuregulin-1, which is considered a schizophrenia susceptibility gene. Neil’s
study identified this mutation as the cause for a significant reduction in intracellular signals resulting in improper neural connections,
presenting abnormalities similar to those found in brains of patients with schizophrenia. He believes his research presents an avenue for
uncovering the possible causes for subsets of the disease and demonstrates the potential of optogenetics, the use of particular frequencies
of light to achieve restoration of protein signaling and, in turn, of receptor and protein expression. He believes this use of light stimulation
may point to future treatment for this debilitating mental disorder that afflicts one percent of the U.S. population. The son of Kamlesh and
Alpana Mehta, Neil provides extensive math and science tutoring to younger peers before and after school. He is captain of the badminton and
bowling teams and a member of the debate club at Jericho Senior High School, and he hopes to earn a Ph.D. in neurobiology.
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