H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research

2002 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine or Physiology, H. Robert Horvitz served as Chair of the Society for Science’s Board of Trustees from 2010 to 2019. He continues to serve as a member of the Honorary Board, committed to furthering the Society’s mission of informing, educating and inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders.

In recognition of his scientific excellence and service, the $10,000 H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research is awarded to the project that represents the best in fundamental research which furthers our understanding of science and/or mathematics. The project promotes the understanding of natural phenomena without clearly defined applications towards processes or products in mind. The award will be used by the winner to cover post-secondary educational expenses.

H. Robert HorvitzAbout H. Robert Horvitz

Robert Horvitz is the David H. Koch Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; a neurobiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital; a member of the MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research and a member of the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. He has served on many editorial boards, visiting committees and advisory committees, and has received numerous honors.

Learn more about the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and about the awards presented at ISEF.

Winners of the H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research

ISEF 2024: Tanishka Balaji Aglave, 15, of Valrico, Florida, received the H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research of $10,000 for her investigation into a natural alternative treatment against citrus greening, a disease that threatens citrus farming in many parts of the world and is currently only treated with antibiotics.

2024

Tanishka Aglave, Strawberry Crest High School, FL, United States of America

Tanishka Balaji Aglave, 15, of Valrico, Florida, received the H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research of $10,000 for her investigation into a natural alternative treatment against citrus greening, a disease that threatens citrus farming in many parts of the world and is currently only treated with antibiotics. Tanishka injected the trunks of infected trees with an extract from the curry leaf tree, and found through tests that this potential method could effectively and sustainably manage citrus greening disease. 

Video

PLNT016 — Advancing Sustainable Citrus Greening Disease Management: A Comprehensive Eco-Friendly Approach for the Management of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus Using Trunk Injection of Murraya koenigii Derived Biological Extract and Its Validation Through Precision Agriculture Tools

ISEF 2023 Grand Award Winners: Rishabh Ranjan, 17, and Gopalaniruddh Tadinada, 17, of Louisville, Kentucky, received the H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research

2023

Gopalaniruddh Tadinada and Rishabh Ranjan, duPont Manual High School, KY, United States of America

Rishabh Ranjan, 17, and Gopalaniruddh Tadinada, 17, of Louisville, Kentucky, received $10,000 for building a custom, automated system to detect gastrointestinal cancer before serious symptoms appear. The team’s system combines robotics and machine learning to analyze blood samples to identify healthy patients, as well as those with pancreatic, colorectal or hepatic cancers, in only three hours at an estimated cost of only $300. Detecting these cancers before they metastasize could make treatment much simpler and more effective.

Video

ENBM038T — Screening for Multiple Gastrointestinal Cancers With CanDELA: Low-Cost, Automated Gastrointestinal Cancer Detection Utilizing Magnetic Bead miRNA Extraction, Peristaltic Pump-Based Liquid Handling, miRNA Amplification and Fluorescence Spectroscopy With Support Vector Networks

2022 ISEF Robert Horvitz Prize award winner Rebecca Cho

2022

Rebecca Cho, Jericho High School, NY, United States of America

Rebecca Cho, 17, of Jericho, New York, received $10,000 for creating a geological model that incorporates the effects of changing landscapes, climate, sea level and erosion. Her model can be used to investigate ecological changes over 20 million years in the western U.S. and potentially predict the effects of climate change on the area’s biodiversity.

Video

EAEV034 — Reconstruction Modeling Using Tectonics and Climate of Western North America

2021 ISEF Winner of the H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research: Neha Mani, Hunter College High School, NY, United States of America

2021

Neha Mani, Hunter College High School, NY, United States of America

Neha Mani, 17, of Bronx, New York received $10,000 for her quantitative research of microbiology, which uses a diagnostic method to distinguish bacterial motion to diagnose Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) by mathematically separating swarming from swimming.

Video

MCRO043 — Distinguishing Bacterial Motion Quantitatively: A Diagnostic Method for Intestinal Disease