The Evolution of Science Research at Riverdale
This year, the Science Research Program at Riverdale enters its 25th year of educating students in scientific research and discovery. Since 1999, the program has played an integral part in both Riverdale students’ academic careers and the campus itself. From constructing the second floor of the Weinstein building to setting up weather data stations across campus, science research is an integral part of Riverdale history. But what is “science research” and how has it changed over the course of its 25-year run? We asked this same question to three of the program’s leaders: Dr. Jeanie Drew, the program’s founder in 1999, Dr. Rachel Cox, who led it since 2008, and Dr. Danny Gentile, who took over in 2024.
To start off with a brief history, the program was established around the turn of the millennium by Dr. Drew, who thought that Riverdale required a space to educate highly motivated students in science research. During this time, science research was exclusive to college and higher levels—letting high schoolers do real scientific research seemed impractical. However, the Lisman family believed in its potential and donated a generous grant for the construction of laboratories dedicated to science research on the second floor of Weinstein. Early on, science research was purely a summer program, but under the leadership of Dr. Cox and now Dr. Gentile, it has grown to offer year-long and semester courses during the school year.
In its conception, the program was very small. During summers of the early 2000s, Dr. Drew taught groups as small as two to three students, with the most being eight students in 2004. However, research was intensive and detailed. Over the years, Dr. Drew and her students studied complex relationships such as the connection between estrogen and insulin and using ultrasounds to detect tumors. Students often worked individually, for example one student created a mathematical modeling of the SARS spread. She highlights a particularly fond year where students researched why men who have Type 2 Diabetes have erectile dysfunction. Dr. Drew explains: “I think we were the first people who figured that out… Nobody wanted to publish their papers because everybody had too much work getting ready to go to college in their senior year… So they never published that paper, but people have since discovered the same stuff that we discovered.”
Each leader of the science research program has brought their own “signature.” Dr. Cox explains: “Whoever leads the program, it’s a very personal approach.” For instance, when the program was first started, Dr. Drew often worked with students on biomedical experiments, whereas Dr. Cox pushed the program to focus on ecology and environmental science. She adds: “We’ve all built on what the other person did, which is kind of how science works in general.” Nevertheless, one goal is common. The science research program aims to teach with a metacognitive approach, explaining to students why they learn what they learn. Moreover, the course aims to be a collaboration between the student and teachers: “the reasoning behind why we do what we do should be shared not only between the educators and the students but between the students and the educators; they go both ways,” explains Dr. Gentile.
With new leadership comes new ideas, and Dr. Gentile aims to expand the science research program to be more accessible to all students. He argues that science should not just be taught by reading a textbook, but also through experiential learning. He hopes that fundamental ideas about science research can be applied throughout the school year in many different courses, not just during the summer. He inquires: “How could we integrate these aspects of research more authentically into all of our courses so that students form a foundation of integrated thinking so that we could build what’s called institutional knowledge?” Echoing this vision, Dr. Cox hopes that science research will become more transparent, “this isn’t some kind of mystery box process that you have to be ‘super nerd’ to engage in,” she implores. Dr. Drew wishes more broadly that “Riverdale continues to get amazing students who love science,” and that the science research program keeps its doors open “so that no one at Riverdale who’s qualified to do research would be turned down ever again.”
Last year, the in-school science research course was restructured as “Science Research and Informatics,” and became co-taught with a computer science teacher. The idea emerged when Dr. Cox and Dr. Gentile needed to analyze leaf DNA, which constitutes terabytes of data and requires in-depth knowledge of programming. Additionally, when Dr. Monica Murakami added Neuroscience to the Lisman Labs, summer program students needed a way to analyze large data sets. Dr. Gentile explains: “Modern research requires data analytics.” The integration of computer science was welcomed by all and will now continue in the future. Dr. Cox expresses her joy with the integration: “It’s incredible to work with people outside the department,” especially within an interdisciplinary fashion.
Today, science research at Riverdale extends past the school and into the wider community of scientists who use Riverdale’s data for their own research. Dr. Cox describes the program as, “cutting edge: you always feel like you’re learning stuff and making discoveries,” furthering scientific research in the world. An early pioneer of college research done by high school students, Riverdale is now a model for schools around the world to create opportunities for students to contribute to something larger than themselves.
