Browse real student projects, abstracts, and awards.
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Flavonoids, a subclass of polyphenols, are known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, potentially reducing the risk of cancer. This experiment tested the ability of five s…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is among the most prevalent psychoactive drugs in the United States, with nearly 20 million users each day. Yet, detection capabilities remain limited for roads…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Many neurodegenerative diseases involve progressive neuronal dysfunction associated with mitochondrial impairment, protein aggregation, and axonal pathology, leading to detrimental motor and…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Airway diseases are known for the excessive production of mucus and inflammatory levels. Nonetheless, most of the current literature has been on intracellular pathways rather than on the ext…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) in the US, and peripheral nerves are present in upwards of 85% of BC cases. Adrenergic signaling, regulated by stress neurotransmitters lik…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Hypoxia is common in solid tumors, and Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 Alpha (HIF-1a) plays a key role in adaptation to low-oxygen environments. This year’s research focused primarily on the intr…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Everyday behavior is shaped by both conscious and unconscious processes. While neuroscience research has traditionally focused on brain activity associated with conscious perception, far les…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Solid tumors contain a tumor microenvironment (TME) with high levels of immunosuppressive metabolites that interfere with T cell activation. While CAR T cells are effective in blood cancers,…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Cancer immunotherapy seeks to harness the immune system to selectively target tumor cells. This study investigated whether human T cells could be engineered to recognize melanoma cells expre…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
A hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is misfolded tau proteins, driven by hyperphosphorylation. This study investigates the structural stability of tau protein domains—N-terminal, proline-rich…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gingiva, induced by accumulation of bacterial plaque leading to the destruction of alveolar bone and tooth loss. Clearance of b…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most aggressive and rapidly progressing brain tumors. Due to its molecular heterogeneity, it exhibits strong resistance to therapy. Recent studies…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of matter in the brain driven by amyloid-ß (Aß) aggregation. In scientific literature, the role of inhibitory neurot…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is characterized by excessive lipid accumulation in the liver and can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carci…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Besides the familiar double helix, DNA can form alternative structures such as G-quadruplexes (G4), guanine-rich four-stranded structures that arise during replication and repair. G4s are co…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Cancer and autoimmune diseases present an immunological paradox: T cells adopt opposing functional states. In cancer, T cells become dysfunctional and lose effector function, failing to elim…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
How do cells decide which lipid droplets to eliminate? Cells store excess lipids in lipid droplets (LDs) to maintain energy balance and protect themselves from lipotoxicity. However, when li…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
RET (Rearranged During Transfection) is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that is frequently altered across multiple cancer types. One such alteration is KIF5B-RET, a fusion oncogene that dri…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Parkinson's disease progression is worsened by chronic neuroinflammation and excessive microglial activation, making inflammatory pathways promising therapeutic targets. Among these strategi…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) regulates cell motility and is commonly assessed by AKT phosphorylation at S473. It remains unclear whether distinct chemoattractants p…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Cancer genomic alterations often create unique vulnerabilities that can be exploited for precise treatment. Inhibitors exploiting synthetic lethal relationships have recently shown clinical…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Americans use an average of 1.6 straws per day, PFAS, are present in both plastic and paper straws, contributing to the increased health issues related to microplastics and PFAS. Several stu…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
This project aims to link the cellular heat stress response of Montipora capitata to its biological immortality. The amortality of this species is attributed to alternative methods of telome…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for over 90% of oral cancers, with 5-year survival rates below 60% due to late-stage diagnosis. Current diagnostic approaches rely on invasive su…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Background Hair loss resulting from follicular miniaturization and stem-cell exhaustion lacks effective biological reversal strategies. Traditional hair restoration relies on follicular tran…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
KARS1 encodes bifunctional cytoplasmic and mitochondrial lysyl-tRNA synthetases, and biallelic loss-of-function variants cause infantile-onset progressive leukoencephalopathy (LEPID) and rel…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects 55 million people worldwide, leading to progressive cognitive decline, brain cell death, and brain shrinkage. Current treatments offer only limited relief, u…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Ischemic injury causes neuronal loss and neurological deficits, challenging stroke recovery. After injury, a glial scar forms, but its regulation of neural stem cell (NSC) fate remains uncle…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the United States. It is frequently asymptomatic, yet can result in severe reproductive complications. Wh…
ISEF · 2026
Cellular and Molecular Biology
The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is a G protein–coupled receptor that plays a critical role in energy homeostasis by activating cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling to suppress…