High school student’s research to be published in journal

Deer Lakes Class of 2024 graduate Anita Zhu will be published in a journal for her research.

Deer Lakes Class of 2024 graduate Anita Zhu will be published in the Journal of Research High School for her submission “Effects of Psilocybin: Alterations to the Brain.”

Anita began to research the effects of psilocybin, which are classified as hallucinogens, in her junior year when students in Deer Lakes High School’s AP Language and Composition course were tasked with conducting a research project on a topic of personal interest as part of the curriculum.

Additional analysis should be organized, Anita said, before deciding on the legality of psilocybin as research is limited and studies are heavily regulated and not often approved for further investigation.

“In the future, when additional evidence becomes available, public opinion on psychedelic drugs may change depending on scientific authentication of advantages and disadvantages regarding the effects of psilocybin,” Anita said.

Anita, who will attend Johns Hopkins University, plans to continue to do medical research in college and relishes hands-on and real-life data collection opportunities in research labs or projects. She is particularly interested in topics that include the correlation of oral health with overall well-being and medical entomology and disease ecology, especially targeting impoverished communities.