TBC2025 Poster Competition Winners

TBC2025 Awards Across Three Main Categories

TBC2025 winners were awarded across three main categories - 1) Agriculture and Food Science, 2) Platform Tools and Technologies, and 3) Human and Animal Health. Within these main categories, a number of subcategories were identified by the judges, each with their own first place winner. Another change for this year was grouping contestants into two broader age/grade ranges - Junior (Grades 6-9, encompassing most middle and junior high school students, as well as early high school students) and Senior (Grades 10-12 for established high school students). TBC2025 first place winners in each category/subcategory are listed below with links to the winning posters.

Agriculture and Food Science

Subcategory: Agricultural Biotechnology and Food Systems

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Chioma Igbokwe, T.R. Smedberg Middle School, “Smart Farming: Is it the New Future of Planting?”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Kaitlyn Sayasing, Sheldon High School, “Nourish the Soil, Nurture the Future: Sustainable Farming for a Healthier Tomorrow”

Subcategory: Cellular Agriculture

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Emory Ou, Pleasanton Middle School, “Developing Immortal BSCS for Sustainable Cultured Meat”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Janice Tao, Sheldon High School, “Cultivated Meat: Biotech’s Bite of the Future”

Platform Tools and Technologies

Subcategory: Environmental Biotechnology

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Taran Ciganehalli, Eleanor Murray Fallon Middle School, “Genetical Engineering on Cyanobacteria: How Can These Tiny Organisms Impact the World?”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Di Tu Chuong, Sheldon High School, “Turning the Tides: A Cleaner Ocean with Plastic-Eating Bacteria”

Subcategory: Nanotech, Biomaterials, and Industrial Biotech

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Srilakshmi Raghuram, Mission San Jose High School, “Crossing the Blood Brain Barrier”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Hiya Banerjee, Pleasant Grove High School, “Branching Out: The Multifunctional Polymers Revolutionizing Nanotechnology”
• Krystal Sin, Sheldon High School, “Revolutionizing the World with Nanoparticles and Tea”

Subcategory: Computational Biology, Genomics, and Genetic Engineering

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Samik Chaudhry, Foothill High School, Machine Learning’s Applications to Biology”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Iris Zheng, The King’s Academy, “AlphaFold Cracks: The Protein-Folding Case”

Human and Animal Health

Subcategory: Biomedical Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Bharghav Soma, Amador Valley High School, “Biobots: Cellular Machines for Medicine and More”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Tram Nguyen, Sheldon High School, “Future of Stem Cells: The Missing Piece in Alzheimer's Treatment”
• Amun Wedderburn, Sheldon High School, “Organs-on-Chips: The Future of Drug Testing and Personalized Medicine”

Subcategory: Diagnostics, Drugs, Vaccines, and Treatments

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Liv Harrington, Atkins High School, “Atherosclerosis: The Cardiac Killer and the Promising Path to a Cure”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Bhavya Dwivedi, Emerald High School, “A Coupled HPA-Mirror Neuron Model of Chronic Maternal Stress and Autism Susceptibility”
• Thyda Sokunn, Sheldon High School, “Breaking Barriers: Exploring New Horizons in Post-Breast Cancer Treatment”

Subcategory: Personalized Medicine and Gene Therapies

Junior (Grades 6-9)

• Amel Ben Haj, Harper Junior High, “Can Personalized Medicine Targeting Epigenetic Abnormalities Cure Breast Cancer?”

Senior (Grades 10-12)

• Nehal Revuri, Dublin High School, “Synthetic Anti-Cancer Soldiers: Unlocking the Potential of CAR T-cell Therapy”