More than 30 Indian American Students Among 300 Semifinalists in Regeneron Science Talent Search

Several Indian Americans are among 300 semifinalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2023, the Society for Science announced on Jan. 10. The annual competition is described as “the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.” 

The semi-finalists will be awarded $2,000 each and their schools will be awarded $2,000 for each enrolled scholar, the Society said. The scholars were selected from 1,949 applications from 627 high schools across 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and four other countries. They were chosen “based on their outstanding research, leadership skills, community involvement, commitment to academics, creativity in asking scientific questions and exceptional promise as STEM leaders demonstrated through the submission of their original, independent research projects, essays and recommendations,” the Society added.

“Congratulations to the top 300 scholars in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO, Society for Science and Publisher, Science News. “The enthusiasm and quality of projects from this year’s participants were just outstanding. Each year, I am tremendously impressed by the ingenuity that the students bring to the competition. The hard work, creativity and perseverance should be applauded.”

Forty of the 300 scholars will be chosen as finalists on Jan. 24. They will then compete for more than $1.8 million in awards during a week-long competition in Washington, D.C., from March 9-15.

Indian American semifinalists include: 

Ashwika Agrawal, 17 Cupertino High School, California. (Project Title: Hanu: A Low-Cost Computer-Aided Lung Auscultation Apparatus With Automated Diagnosis of Respiratory Illnesses.)

Bhargav Raviseshachandra Annem, 17, Liberal Arts & Science Academy, Texas. (Project Title: Impact of Orbiting Satellites on Star Formation Rate Evolution and Metallicity Variations in Milky Way-Like Discs)

Stavya Arora, 17, Maple Grove Senior High School, Minnesota. (Project Title: Overcoming Opioids: Analyzing, Characterizing and Quantifying the Sentiment of Reddit Posts’ Tone and Language Prior to a Relapse To Allow for Early Intervention.)

Aaditya Krishna Arun, 18, Harmony School of Innovation, Sugar Land, Texas. (Project Title: Determine the Deleterious Effect of Excess Fluoride on Reproductive Outcome and Development of Dip Bag-Based De-Fluoridation Solution.)

Shivani Babu, 17, Auburn High School, Alabama. (Project Title: Attenuation of Adipocyte Hypertrophy in a Palmitic Acid-Induced 3T3 Cell Model Through Lupeol Treatment.)

Sruthi Balasubramanian, 17, American Heritage School Boca-Delray, Florida. (Project Title: The Effect of Nicotinamide on the Il-6 Expression and Cell Count of Barrett’s Esophagus-Expressing Cells.)

Samir Batheja, 17, Half Hollow Hills High School, New York. (Project Title: Association Between Sleep and Fatigue in Depression: Role of GABA and Glutamate.)

Shriya P Bhat, 17, Plano East Senior High School, Texas. (Project Title: Cloning and Mutagenesis of the ampC Gene Encoding for β–lactamase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa To Identify Potential Allosteric Binding Sites.)

Rohan Tan Bhowmik, 17, The Harker School, California. (Project Title: A Multi-Modal Wildfire Prediction and Early-Warning System Based on a Novel Machine Learning Framework.)

Kristi Biswas, 17, Paxon Senior High School, Florida. (Project Title: Associations of Genetic SNPs With AD, Neuropathology and Gene Expression Offers Novel Insight Into AD)

Raka Bose, 17, Yorktown High School, New York. (Project Title: Using Artificial Intelligence for ICU Patient Triage.)

Hiral Milind Chavre, 17, George W. Hewlett High School, New York. (Project Title: NMDA Receptor Mutation and KCC2 Inhibition Induce Changes in Brain Development Associated With Neurodevelopmental Diseases.)

Rohini Elora Das, 17, Byram Hills High School, New York. (Project Title: “Let’s Sleep On It”: Employing the Brain App To Measure the Impact of Sleep in Consolidating Prior Learning.)

Samara Davis, 17, Ossining High School, New York. (Project Title: Developing Environmental DNA Metabarcoding for the Detection of Elusive Vernal Pool-Breeding Amphibians.)

Vihaan Dheer, 18, Hackley School, New York. (Project Title: The Optimization of Flux Trajectories for the Adiabatic Controlled-Z Gate on Split-Tunable Transmons.)

Nadya Jasmine Dhillon, 17, Oak Park and River Forest High School, Illinois.(Project Title: The Effect of a Novel Biomedical Technique on Reprocessing of Duodenoscopes Using Silver Nitrate and Methylene Blue Irradiated With Red Light.)

Advay Goel, 17, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Massachusetts. (Project Title: The Geometry and Limits of Young Partition Flow Polytopes.)

Ambika Grover, 17, Greenwich High School, Connecticut. (Project Title: Design of a Novel, Dual-Functioning, Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Factor XI-Inhibiting Anticoagulant Therapeutic for Rapid Ischemic Stroke Treatment.)

Arya Gupta, 17, Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina. (Project Title: Exploring the Relationship Between PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome and Its Five Related Conditions: Insulin Resistance, Menstrual Malfunction, Hyperandrogenemia, Obesity and Infertility.)

Ronit Gupta, 17, Greenwich High School, Connecticut. (Project Title: Design of a Rapid, Lateral Flow COPD Diagnostic via Detection of Cyto-Keratin 19 Biomarkers.)

Varun Hariprasad, 17, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Kentucky, (Project Title: Developing a Novel Autonomous Swarm-Based Beach Cleaning Robot.)

Anu Iyer, 17, Little Rock Central High School, Arkansas. (Project Title: Systematic Parkinson Audio Recognition Construct (SPARC): A Novel Machine Learning Method To Detect Parkinson’s Disease Using Voice in Three Seconds.)

Aashika Jagadeesh, 17, Fair Lawn High School, New Jersey. (Project Title: FreeFeed: A Novel Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Achieving Multi-Sided Fairness in Recommendation Systems.)

Rishab Kumar Jain, 18, Westview High School, Oregon. (Project Title: GlioMod: Spatiotemporal-Aware Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumor Growth Modeling With Deep Encoder-Decoder Networks.)

Tanish Jain, 17, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Virginia. (Project Title: In silico Prediction of Drug Permeability Through an Inflamed Blood-Brain Barrier Using Molecular Feature Modeling.)

Aryan Thomas Kalluvila, 17, Hartford Union High School, Wisconsin. (Project Title: An Accurate Super-Resolution Approach to 64 mT Low-Field MRI via Domain Adaptation and Nested U-Net Architecture.)

Archita Khaire, 17, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, North Carolina. (Project Title: A Semi-Supervised Approach To Rank Potential Causal Variants and Their Target Genes in Microglia for Alzheimer’s Disease.)

Amav Khambete, 17, Coppell High School, Texas. (Project Title: The Effects on Novel Drugs on EPH-EPHRIN Protein Interactions for the Inhibition of Chronic Pain.)

Sameer Ullal Kini, 17, Scarsdale High School, New York. (Project Title: Associations Between Pathophysiological Traits and Symptom Development in V30M and V122I Transthyretin Amyloidosis.)

Sravan Kodali, 17, Christian Brothers Academy, New York. (Project Title: Probing the Etiological Basis of Cancer and Neurological Disease: Epigenomic Signatures Associated With Spontaneous and Replication Stress-Induced Double Strand Breaks.)

Harish Krishnakumar, 17, Tesla STEM High School, Washington. (Project Title: Analysis of Ring Galaxies Detected Using Deep Learning With Real and Simulated Data.)

Hari Hemanth Krishnamurthy, 17, Canyon Crest Academy, California. (Project Title: Asylum Indicator: Predictive Modeling of Asylum Adjudications in the USA and in the EU To Help Refugees.)

Gouri Krishnan, 18, King School, Connecticut. (Project Title: Energy Loss From Wasted Plastic and Lighting Inefficiency Can Be Reduced Through a Combination of Environmentally Friendly Polymers Created From Biomass and Energy-Saving Electrochromic Windows.)

Veda Kutagula, 17, Allen High School, Texas. (Project Title: Predicting Binge Drinking Risk Among Teenagers as Part of an Overall Mental Health Predictive Model Using Machine Learning Techniques.)

Nishant Lahiri, 17, Corning-Painted Post High School, New York. (Project Title: Polyethyleneimine-Impregnated Adsorbents for a Novel Community-Based Carbon Capture and Sequestration System.)

Darsh Sandip Mandera, 18, Jesuit High School, Oregon. (Project Title: OncoPharML: A Machine-Learning Approach for Cancer Biomarkers Identification and Multi-Omics-Based Targeted Cancer-Drug Prediction.)

Krish Maniar, 17, The Harker School, California. (Project Title: DANO (Digital Phenotypic Assessment in Neuro-Oncology): Guiding Treatment Interventions and Forecasting Recurrence for Glioblastoma Patients Using Smartphone-Extracted Mobility Metrics.)

Arul Rhik Mazumder, 17, Massachusetts Academy of Math & Science, Massachusetts. (Project Title: An Adaptive Hybrid Quantum Algorithm for the Metric Traveling Salesman Problem.)

Amishi Mittal, 17, Bergen County Academies, New Jersey. (Project Title: Correlations Between Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease and Increasing Aβ Degradation by Insulin-Degrading Enzyme via Zinc Chelation.)

Neel Moudgal, 16, Saline Area High School, Michigan. (Project Title: Using Unassigned NMR Chemical Shifts To Model RNA Secondary Structure.)

Ishika Nag, 17, Oviedo High School, Florida. (Project Title: Development of an Engineered Face Mask With Optimized Nanoparticle Layering for Filtration of Air Pollutants and Viral Pathogens.)

Lavanya Natarajan, 17, Viera High School, Florida. (Project Title: A Prescriptive IoT Solution To Detect and Mitigate Fugitive Methane Gas in Landfills via a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System.)

Ayush Nayak, 18, Westview School, California. (Project Title: Development of InSb/Si Quantum Dots for Next-Generation Multivalued High-Transport Transistor Technology.)

Siddhu Pachipala, 18, The Woodlands College Park High School, Texas. (Project Title: SuiSensor: A Novel, Low-Cost Machine Learning System for Real-Time Suicide Risk Identification and Treatment Optimization via Computational Linguistics.)

Apoorva Panidapu, 17, Nautilus Academy Homeschool, California. (Project Title: Short-Interval Sector Problems for CM Elliptic Curves.)

Jeeya Yogesh Patel, 17, George Washington High School, West Virginia. (Project Title: Consequences of a Dot-1.1 Deletion on Germ Cell Components in Caenorhabditis elegans.)

Shloke Patel, 17, Hillsborough High School, Florida. (Project Title: Developing Novel Biologicals With Multiple Modes of Action (BM) To Combat the Early Blight Disease in Tomato, Potato and Bell Pepper.)

Sohi Patel, 17, The Woodlands College Park High School, Texas. (Project Title: Programmable Matter: A Microscale, Self-Reconfigurable, Swarm Robotic System.)

Ashwin Prabhakar, 17, Bob Jones High School, Alabama. (Project Title: A Low-Cost Portable and Modular Single-Shot Hyperspectral Imaging System for Characterization of Materials.)

Ibrahim Qadri, 17, Valley Stream South High School, New York. (Project Title: The Ability of Vitamin E To Improve the Reproduction and Metabolic Respiration of Nicotine-Induced D. Melanogaster.)

Akhila Ram, 18, Lexington High School, Massachusetts. (Project Title: Unsupervised Representation Learning of GRACE Improves Groundwater Predictions.)

Gitanjali Rao, 17, STEM School Highlands Ranch, Colorado. (Project Title: A Novel Approach to Early Directional Diagnosis of Prescription Opioid Addiction.)

Kaif Ur Rehman, 17, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Maryland. (Project Title: Analysis of Carbon Isotopic Values and Small Shelly Fossils of the Poleta Formation in the Lower Cambrian.)

Amit Saha, 18, William A. Shine Great Neck South High School, New York. (Project Title: Deep Learning Accelerated Lattice-Boltzmann Simulations for Multiscale Modeling of Thrombosis.)

Rhea Sakaria, 17, Jericho Senior High School, New York. (Project Title: Identifying a Potent Wnt Compound To Enhance Stemness Post-Radiation Through Activating the Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway.)

Arvind Seshan, 18, Fox Chapel Area High School, Pennsylvania. (Project Title: An Iterative Neural Network-Based Approach to Automated IFT-20 Sensory Neuron Identification in Caenorhabditis elegans.)

Anika Shah, 17, Syosset High School, New York. (Project Title: Effects of Class-Conscious Admissions on College Campus Racial Diversity.)

Divyash Viral Shah, 17, Bergen County Academies, New Jersey. (Project Title: Effect of SCN9A Gene Therapy in Reversing Senescence in Astrocytes in vitro and Alzheimer’s Disease Implications.)

Roni Shaham, 17, Bronx High School of Science, New York. (Project Title: #HermanWho? Using Linguistic Analysis To Empirically Measure the Fifth Filter of the Propaganda Model in 2022.)

Nathan Shan, 17, Montgomery Blair High School, Maryland. (Project Title: Built-In Injustice: Institutional Bias in Energy Infrastructure and Access.)

Hari Shankar, 17, Rick Reedy High School, Texas. (Project Title: PetalNet: A Novel Approach Towards Forecasting Plant Disease Epidemics Using Citizen Science and Machine Learning.)

Ambica Sharma, 17, Washington-Liberty High School, Virginia. (Project Title: Novel Aurora Kinase, EZH2 and BET Inhibitor Small Molecular Compound Combinations To Treat Glioblastoma Multiforme.)

Amogh Shetty, 18, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Illinois. (Project Title: Astrocytes Differentiated From Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Robustly Express the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway.)

Samyak Shrimali, 18, Jesuit High School, Oregon. (Project Title: CareHAI: A Novel Automated Artificial Intelligence and Sensor-Based Multi-Modular System for Early Diagnosis and Prevention of Hospital-Acquired Infections.)

Dheyala Simrin, 17, Herricks High School, New York. (Project Title: Characterizing Social Behaviors in Female Mice: A Novel Sex-Specific Model Using DeepLabCut and B-SOiD Unsupervised Machine Learning.)

Ridhima Singh, 17, Farragut High School, Tennessee. (Project Title: Understanding the Sensitivity of Vegetation Growth to Climate Factors in Urban Areas and Its Variability Across Spatial Scales.)

Armaan Srireddy, 18, Westwood High School, Texas. (Project Title: Developing a Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerator To Sustainably Power Biosensors.)

Saurish Srivastava, 18, Evergreen Valley High School, California. (Project Title: Scant Evidence for Domain-General Metacognition: A Meta-Analysis.)

Aadhav Sundar, 17, McIntosh High School, Georgia. (Project Title: A Feasibility Study of Lightweight Polylactic Acid Fused Deposition Modeled Propeller Prototyping.)

Minnahil Tariq, 17, Brentwood High School – Sonderling Center, New York. (Project Title: Evaluating the Invasive Macroalga, Dasyshiphonia japonica, on Long Island Coasts and Assessing Its Effect on Carbon Sequestration, Nitrogen Loading and Climate Change.)

Akshata Tiwari, 17, Aliso Niguel High School, California. (Project Title: Non-Invasive Stress Monitoring From Video for Semi-Autonomous Systems.)

Nikhil Trepeta, 17, Jericho Senior High School, New York. (Project Title: Decreased Levels of TSP-2 Results in Under-Activation of the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway and Alters Gene Expression in NIH-3T3 Cell Lines.)

Vivek Turakhia, 17, Syosset High School, New York. (Project Title: Aluminum Hydroxide-Induced Dopaminergic Neuron Degeneration and α-Synuclein Aggregation in the Caenorhabditis elegans Model of Parkinson’s Disease.)

Sachleen Tuteja, 16, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Illinois. (Project Title: Investigating Shared Genetic Underpinnings in Autoimmune Diseases of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Scleroderma and Rheumatoid Arthritis by Implementing Polygenic Risk Scores on Cohorts Identified Using Electronic Health Record Data.)

Suraj Vaddi, 18, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Virginia. (Project Title: Tar Print: Convolutional Remote Sensing Techniques To Quantify Urbanization and Study Water Quality Through Macroinvertebrate Assemblages.)

Keshav Varadarajan, 17, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, North Carolina. (Project Title: Long-Term Hazardous Air Pollutant Estimates Across the United States.)

Adi Vatsavai, 17, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. (Project Title: A Massive Spring Analogy to Josephson Junctions in an External Magnetic Field.)

Ganesh Venu, 17, Friendswood High School, Texas. (Project Title: Cost-Effective Visual Aids for Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients.)

Deeya Viradia, 17, The Harker School, California. (Project Title: Satellite Observations of NO2 and Surface/Ground Measurements for Indian Cities.)