Jennifer Choi and Sapna Tejwani, both seniors at W.T. Clarke High School in Westbury, were recently chosen as semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search, a competition that has been compared to a "Junior Nobel Prize."

"They worked for years on this and we are really proud of them," said physics teacher Carol Smyth. Clarke High School has another reason to be proud of Choi and Tejwani--for the first time in the 59-year history of the prestigious competition, each of the 178 schools that placed a semi-finalist received $1,000 per semifinalist to be used in support of the school's science and math education programs. Additionally, Choi and Tejwani each received $1,000 in recognition of their achievements.

The semifinalists, high school seniors ranging in age from 15 to 19, were selected from 1,517 applications submitted from 530 schools in 48 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. New York fielded the most semifinalists with 154.

Choi and Tejwani's projects were judged by top scientists from a variety of disciplines, and overseen by Dr. Andrew Yeager, a physician at Emory University Medical School, and a pioneer in blood cell transplant. They were judged for research ability, scientific originality and creative thinking.

Seventeen-year-old Choi's project is called A Clinical Study on the Effects of Spina Bifida on Sensory and Motor Nerves. Choi, who was born with the motor tube defect Spina Bifida, explained, "When I was in ninth grade, I became interested in how my disability affected me. I did some general research on Spina Bifida, but then decided to hone in on its effects on the nervous system."

Tejwani, also 17, found her inspiration while working in the Memory Disorder Clinic of Elmhurst Hospital. Her project is called The Incidence of ApolipoproteinE 4 in Two Distinct Cohorts of Alzheimer's Disease Patients. "This gene, ApolipoproteinE 4, was isolated as a susceptibility gene for Alzheimer's disease, but when it has been studied, it is only studied in one particular population," she explained. Tejwani sought to isolate the gene in Alzheimer's patients in a passive setting, a long-term care facility, and compare it with patients in an active setting, a research center where patients chose to take part in various treatments.

For Choi and Tejwani, being honored as Intel semifinalists is just one rung on their personal ladders of success. Choi is working to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. "That was the goal I set for myself when I was 9 years old," she said. Tejwani wants to study bio-medical engineering.

Choi and Tejwani may go on to join the ranks of the other Science Talent Search alumni, who currently hold more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and math honors, including three National Medal of Science winners, nine MacArthur Foundation Fellows, two Fields Medalists and five Nobel Laureates.