Whiz Kid: Bilal Siddiqui

This week's Whiz Kid is Mepham junior Bilal Siddiqui!

• Name: Bilal Siddiqui
• Grade: Junior
• School: Mepham High School
• Accomplishment: Won first place in the category of Microbiology in the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair.
• Key to Awesomeness: Siddiqui was named one of 17 grand finalists after competing against 450 fellow researchers. He will be participating in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair to be held in Los Angeles in May.
• Siddiqui’s research was completed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital with assistance from Dr. Taha Merghout and his Science Research Advisor Dr. David Kommor. The focus of Siddiqui’s study was to determine if human melanoma cells express the enzyme IDO as a means of suppressing the immune system. The investigation also assessed the relationship between IDO expression versus the expression of various immune cell biomarkers including CD4 and CD8 in tumor tissues and identified exact sites of expression.

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or did your local soccer team take the
championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree.

Each week, Bellmore Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid.

Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to Matthew.Hogan@Patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's Name
• Nominator's E-Mail
• Whiz Kid's Name
• Whiz Kid's Age
• Whiz Kid's School
• Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)