2026 Research Expo Winners
All award recipients are listed alphabetically by category and award/place.
ISEF Trip Winners
Symposium Finalists
| name | category | title |
|---|---|---|
| Claire Shi | Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences | Surface-Modified Alginate Bioplastics: Biodegradable Sorbents for Selective Oil Spill Remediation |
| Danny Paik | Biomedical Health Sciences | Multimodal Modeling of Convection-Enhanced Drug Delivery for Glioblastoma |
| Avya Patel | Biomedical Health Sciences | Inhibition of Vascular Calcification and Osteogenesis by FGF23-⍺-klotho Interactions |
| Leo Toake | Cell and Molecular Biology | A Multi-Modal Framework for Exercise-Induced Anti-Tumor Immunotherapy |
| Yena Kim | Cell and Molecular Biology | Decellularizing Spinach Leaf as a Potential Scaffold for Tissue Engineering |
| Samuel Kim | Engineering | Novel Auto-Leveling Footwear System for Postural Stability Support |
| Santiago Franco de la Matta | Physics | Exploring the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm and Its Generalizations |
| Joshua Tom | Physics | Optimizing Satellite-based Quantum Networks via Electro-optic Modulation |
Category Awards
Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Claire Shi | First | Surface-Modified Alginate Bioplastics: Biodegradable Sorbents for Selective Oil Spill Remediation |
| Aakrithi Ram | Second | The Implications of Glyphosate-Based Pesticides on the DNA of Vanessa Cardui |
| Lina Simonyan and Jeremiah Markose | Third | Repurposing and Modifying the Zmorph VX 3D-Printer for Extrusion-Based Bioprinting |
Behavioral Sciences
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Jayita Iyengar | First | Linguistic Markers of Cognitive Decline in Multiple Sclerosis |
| Eunseo Whaong | Second | Energy Drinks: The 21st Century Gateway Drug |
Biomedical Health Sciences
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Danny Paik | First | Multimodal Modeling of Convection-Enhanced Drug Delivery for Glioblastoma |
| Avya Patel | First | Inhibition of Vascular Calcification and Osteogenesis by FGF23-⍺-klotho Interactions |
| Veda Elchuri | Second | The In Vitro Role of Ferroptosis in Left Ventricular Hypertrophy |
| Hridank Shukla | Second | Narasin as an OPN-Mediated MMP9 Inhibitor for Lung Adenocarcinoma |
| Elizabeth Ki | Third | Repurposing Parbendazole: Investigating the Cell Cycle in Pancreatic Cancer Cells |
| Bryan Ding | Third | Adipocyte-like cells as a novel source of myofibroblasts in pulmonary fibrosis |
| Ngoc Khanh Uyen Tran | Third | Effect of Tamoxifen & 17-β-estradiol on VEGF Production in Lung Adenocarcinoma |
Cell and Molecular Biology
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Leo Toake | First | A Multi-Modal Framework for Exercise-Induced Anti-Tumor Immunotherapy |
| Yena Kim | First | Decellularizing Spinach Leaf as a Potential Scaffold for Tissue Engineering |
| Lanamaria Mehetarian | Second | A BIO-Based Model of Fusobacterium nucleatum-Driven Oral Carcinogenesis |
| Sophia Kim | Second | Targeting Cystic Fibrosis Mutation: Double Therapy with Genistein and Corr-4a |
| Nicole Botros | Third | Inhibiting Glycolysis in BRAF Mutant Melanoma Using BAY-876 |
| Delancey Van Meir | Third | Semaglutide Induced Klotho Upregulation Enhances Cellular Anti-Aging Mechanisms |
Chemistry
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Isaac Kim | First | Evaluation of polystyrene nanoplastics removal using iron modified L. Minor biochar |
| Alexander Li | First | Evaluation of Biochar/Polyethylene Glycol Hybrids for Thermal Suppression |
| Hitanshee Sheth | Second | Synthesis and Evaluation of Cashew Nut Shell Oil-Derived Biodiesels |
| Shuohan Peng | Third | Machine Learning Prediction of Membrane Performance for Various PFAS Removal |
Computer Biology and Bioinformatics
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Colin Ding | First | Cancer Cells Converge to a Common Epigenetic Age |
| Olivia Kim | Second | Spatial Clustering of NRG1 and PEX5L in Alzheimer’s Disease |
Engineering
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Kim | First | Novel Auto-Leveling Footwear System for Postural Stability Support |
| Lucas Malachovsky and Lucas Mkheidze | Second | Investigating the Impact of Foot Geometry on Passive Gait |
| Yash Korgaonkar and Nikhil Maalige | Second | A Wearable Diagnostic Device for Parkinsonian Motor Symptom Assessment |
| Sahaj Patel and Tsotne Kvetenadze | Third | A Wearable Biomedical Device for Assisted Mandibular Motion in Mastication |
| Noah Sharon | Third | Portable Pneumatic Compression Sleeve for Lymphedema |
| Andrew Zeng | Third | The Design and Evaluation of a Novel Cable-Driven Shoulder Exoskeleton |
Physics
| name | place | title |
|---|---|---|
| Joshua Tom | First | Optimizing Satellite-based Quantum Networks via Electro-optic Modulation |
| Santiago Franco de la Matta | Second | Exploring the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm and Its Generalizations |
Special Awards
| name | award | category | title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jayita Iyengar | American Psychological Association | Behavioral Sciences | Linguistic Markers of Cognitive Decline in Multiple Sclerosis |
| Hitanshee Sheth | Association for Women Geoscientists | Chemistry | Synthesis and Evaluation of Cashew Nut Shell Oil-Derived Biodiesels |
| Danny Paik | Citadel Securities Innovation Prize | Biomedical Health Sciences | Multimodal Modeling of Convection-Enhanced Drug Delivery for Glioblastoma |
| Danny Paik | BCA Math Team Award-STATS | Biomedical Health Sciences | Multimodal Modeling of Convection-Enhanced Drug Delivery for Glioblastoma |
| Joshua Tom | BCA Math Team Award- MATH | Physics | Optimizing Satellite-based Quantum Networks via Electro-optic Modulation |
| Alexander Li | NASA Earth System Science Award | Chemistry | Evaluation of Biochar/Polyethylene Glycol Hybrids for Thermal Suppression |
| Skanda Ramanathan | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “Taking the Pulse of the Planet” Award | Chemistry | Evaluation of P.Australis Biochar For Pollutant Remediation |
| Leo Toake | Regeneron Biomedical Science Award | Cell and Molecular Biology | A Multi-Modal Framework for Exercise-Induced Anti-Tumor Immunotherapy |
| Hitanshee Sheth | Ricoh USA, Inc. Sustainable Development Award | Chemistry | Synthesis and Evaluation of Cashew Nut Shell Oil-Derived Biodiesels |
| Avya Patel | Society for In Vitro Biology Outstanding Achievement for Ability and Creativity for In Vitro Biology | Biomedical Health Sciences | Inhibition of Vascular Calcification and Osteogenesis by FGF23-⍺-klotho Interactions |
| Ekin Bozer | U.S. Metric Association | Cell and Molecular Biology | Various Protein Effects on the Intelligence of Slime Moulds |
| Lina Simonyan and Jeremiah Markose | United States Air Force | Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences | Repurposing and Modifying the Zmorph VX 3D-Printer for Extrusion-Based Bioprinting |
| Shuohan Peng | United States Air Force | Chemistry | Machine Learning Prediction of Membrane Performance for Various PFAS Removal |
| Yash Korgaonkar and Nikhil Maalige | United States Air Force | Engineering | A Wearable Diagnostic Device for Parkinsonian Motor Symptom Assessment |
| Lanamaria Mehetarian | United States Air Force | Cell and Molecular Biology | A BIO-Based Model of Fusobacterium nucleatum-Driven Oral Carcinogenesis |
| Samuel Kim | Yale Science and Engineering Association | Engineering | Novel Auto-Leveling Footwear System for Postural Stability Support |
| Isaac Kim | U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize | Chemistry | Evaluation of polystyrene nanoplastics removal using iron modified L. Minor biochar |
| Skanda Ramanathan | U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize | Chemistry | Evaluation of P.Australis Biochar For Pollutant Remediation |
| Constantine Nonas | U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize | Chemistry | Non-Intrusive Water Monitoring with Adaptive Incremental Learning |