Ashka Shah
Jericho Senior High School
Jericho, NY
Selective Dual Inhibition of β-Catenin in Wnt-Driven Cancers via Gid8-Assisted Translocation and a Precision Peptide-Based Gene Therapy
Ashka Shah, 17, of Jericho, developed a targeted way to block Wnt-driven cancer cell growth for her Regeneron Science Talent Search cellular and molecular biology project.
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The Wnt signaling system normally controls healthy cell growth, but in many cancers, a mutant β-catenin protein drives unchecked growth. In her project, Ashka used fruit fly models, liver cancer cells and protein interaction experiments to understand how a helper protein, Gid8, enables mutant β-catenin to enter the cell nucleus, where it activates cancer-causing genes.
By targeting this interaction, she found a small piece of β-catenin that can block harmful signaling while preserving β-catenin’s function in normal cells. Her work points toward more precise strategies for treating Wnt-driven cancers, such as liver and colorectal cancer.
The child of Krupa Desai and Hardik Shah, Ashka attends Jericho Senior High School. She founded Makeup for Care, which uses beauty to uplift seniors, and volunteers with an organization that helps arrange food donations for a soup kitchen.
Beyond the Project
Ashka is president of her school’s Medical Minds Club. She is a student lead and designer for Games for Seva, where she co-created educational games and helped raise over $10,000 to support cleanup efforts along the Ganges River.
FUN FACTS: Ashka is a varsity fencing captain and placed second in women’s foil at the 2025 Nassau County Individual Championships. She is a film fanatic and speaks Gujarati and Hindi.
