2022 Student Discovery Zone Competition

Since it began in 2011, the Student Discovery Zone at the AZBio Awards has showcased over 1,000 research posters created by Arizona students.

Students submit a poster and a 2-minute YouTube Video explaining their research process and findings. Their submissions are scored by professionals in the Arizona life science community. Students with accepted posters/videos are invited to attend the AZBio Awards and display their posters. They also compete for scholarship prizes that support their ongoing studies.

Student videos are provided below. Join us at the 2022 AZBio Awards to meet our student innovators.

High School Students

Niharika Abbaraju

AZ College Prep High School

A Novel Approach: Diagnosing, Quantifying and Tracking the Progression of Inflammation-Causing Skin Diseases Using Handheld Optical Reflectance Spectrophotometry

Vishruth Anand

Hamilton High School

Estimating Hippocampal Subfield Volume in Typical and Atypical youth

Savannah Botello

Cibola High School

Comparison of Struvite and Chlorella vulgaris Solution to Phosphorus Water Pollution

Riana Chatterjee

Mountain Ridge High School

A Review On The Impact Of Caregiving Mechanisms On Postpartum-Induced Hormones Influencing Opioid Use

Tej Desai

Paradise Valley High School

Use of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Data to Examine Normative Cognitive Aging

Baochan Fan

Hamilton High School

Self-Disinfecting High-Performance Facemask Based on Biomaterial Coated Nanofibers

Hannah Feinberg

BASIS Tucson North

Molecular Modeling Guided Drug Design

Benjamin Gerber

University High School

Modeling Rhodopsin Activation Utilizing Molecular Dynamics and Electronic Structure Methods

Alex, Andre, and Nick

Alex Kroumov, Andre Glukhovskiy, Nick Sobolev

AZ College Prep Highschool

Natural Termite Control: A Novel Biomolecular Approach

Keona Kuo

University High School

Filamentation of the Glycolytic Enzyme Human Phosphofructokinase-1 Liver Isoform

Renee Li

BASIS Tucson North

Modeling Rhodopsin Activation Using Molecular Dynamics and Electronic Structure Methods

Jared Matheson

University High School

Retinal Microglia Morphology and Distribution in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet for 18 Weeks

Joyeuse Mujambere

Basis Tucson North

Arsenic Hormesis In Caenorhaditis elegans

Diya Nath

AZ College Prep High School

Investigating Connections Between Common Medicines and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Sruti Peddi

BASIS Scottsdale

catarACTION: an Innovative Smartphone-based Tool to Detect Eye Disease

Srishti Rajeev

Paradise Valley High School

Evaluation of Chromosomal Instability in Glioblastoma Multiforme

Ahmad Riyad

AZ College Prep High School

A Biomedically Engineered Approach to Bandages

Maritza Roberts-Padilla

BASIS Tucson North

Isolation and Identification of the Semi-Arid Desert Ecosystem Soil Bacteria of the Saguaro National Park During Pre-Monsoon Season

Akhil Rokkam

BASIS Peoria

Differential Expression of SCN8A in Human iPSC-Derived Neurons During Stages of Differentiation

Reeva Shrestha

BASIS Peoria

Developing an HSP70 Inhibitor to Treat Cancer

Janvi Srivastava

BASIS Scottsdale

DermaTech: A Novel, Non-Invasive Technology to Detect Skin Cancer

University Students

Ahmed Abed Benbuk

Graduate Student

Arizona State University

Passive and Flexible Wireless Stimulator Fabricated on Parylene/PDMS Substrate

Kelsi Petrillo

Graduate Student

University of Arizona

Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of Brain Function during Dual-Tasking: Application of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Older Adults

Brian Durbin

Grand Canyon University

Testing the Effectiveness of KDM4A Inhibitors on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Nicholas Howell

Arizona State University

Validation of diabetic retinopathy polygenic risk scores and analysis in clinically enriched samples

Ulia Lopatin

Translational Genomics Research Institute(TGen)/Arizona State University(ASU)

The Enrichment of Lung-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as a Potential Biomarker for Lung Disease

Sai Srihaas Potu

Arizona State University - Barrett the Honors College

Middle-aged, gonadectomized rats exposed to chronic corticosterone show sex differences in how they respond to long-term 17beta-estradiol treatment on spatial working memory and depressive-like behavior