2025 Science Talent Search Finalist Lena Zewdu Feleke, 17, of Antioch, searched for a better way to deliver gene therapy into kidney cells. Her research focused on different plasmid constructs containing the SLC3A1 gene, a genetic cause of kidney stones.

2025 Science Talent Search Finalist Ava Grace Cummings, 18, of Smithfield, created a model organism of STAC3 disorder. This rare genetic condition was formerly called Native American myopathy.

2025 Science Talent Search Finalist Ishana Chadha, 17, of Commack, explored the genes that control how cells move when the brain grows. Cells move around as the brain develops, and problems with this process can lead to disorders like epilepsy.

2025 Science Talent Search Finalist Jolene Cao, 17 designed a perovskite quantum dot (PQD) nanomaterial that can change its nanoscale arrangements on demand. PQDs are tiny crystals that glow when exposed to energy. These are used in future 3D displays and computer chips.

2025 Science Talent Search Project Showcase: Prisha Prakash Bhat, 17, of Richardson, TX, analyzed how increasing gene activity affected drought and arsenic resistance in rice.

2025 Science Talent Search Finalist Project Showcase: Vidya Ambati, 17, of Charlottesville, searched for new therapies for types of inflammatory arthritis. These diseases damage the joints, causing pain and stiffness.

2025 Science Talent Search Finalist Yurai Gutierrez Morales, 20, of Princeton, studied vegetarian jumping spiders for her Regeneron Science Talent Search animal sciences project.

Society Staff

2025 Science Talent Search Finalist Laasya Acharya Project Showcase: Laasya Acharya, 17, of Mason, Ohio, created an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that uses AI to detect crop disease.