SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) today named Presentation High School Sophomore Shloka Janapaty of San Jose, CA as the winner of CLSI’s 2018 Amgen Bay Area BioGENEius Challenge, the premier competition for high school students that recognizes outstanding research and innovation in the biotechnology field. As the Northern California BioGENEius finalist, Shloka will attend the 2018 BIO International Convention in Boston, the industry’s trade conference, where she will engage with leading companies, scientists and innovators currently transforming the scientific landscape in order to gain invaluable insights into an industry making significant contributions to the world.
While in Boston, Janapaty will compete against students from the U.S. and Canada in the International BioGENEius Challenge. The projects presented will represent a range of biotechnology topics such as healthcare, agriculture, and the environment.
“The Challenge highlights the breakthroughs made when we invest and encourage our younger generations to pursue their ideas. These students are facing the world’s greatest problems head on and providing solutions to heal, feed, and fuel people and the environment,” said California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) President & CEO, Lori Lindburg. “CLSI is excited to cheer Ms. Janapaty on in Boston at the 2018 BIO International Convention as we already know that her research has great potential to help society as well as inspire others to pursue research projects.”
“Our mission is to engage and excite student innovators by creating an environment that allows them to showcase their talents and help accelerate their development as the next-generation of scientists. The BioGENEius Challenges encourage students to apply their scientific knowledge to solve some of society’s most pressing issues through biotechnology, allowing them to see the tremendous potential they have to make change in the world,” said Dr. Lawrence Mahan, President of Biotechnology Institute. “We bring students, mentors and industry leaders together to promote excellence in scientific research from the best and brightest minds in the next generation of biotechnology innovators.”
Shloka’s project was selected because her research focuses on a novel, fast, low-cost approach to achieving nearly 100% degradation of low-density polyethylene, a commonly used plastic that normally takes about a thousand years to degrade.
Second place went to Adrian Wilcox High School Junior, Visala Tallavarjula, for her research on Irrigation Water Usage Efficiency Improvement by Modification of Root Zone Properties Using Carbon Sequestration; followed by third prize winner Elaine Chan, an 11th grader from Irvington High School, for her work on the Effect of Omega 3 Fatty Acids Precursor 17-HDHA and its Lipid Mediator Metabolite RvD1 in Planaria Regeneration. Honorable Mentions included: Raghav Ganesh (Grade 10, Lynbrook High School; Arnav Joshi (Grade 10, The Harker School), and Lekha Pillarisetti (Grade 11, Doughtery Valley High School).
International BioGENEius winners will be announced during the Tuesday, June 5th keynote at the 2018 BIO International Convention. The winners will receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Follow the BioGENEius Challenge: Throughout the challenge, @BiotechInstitut will be tweeting interviews, photos, and engaging with the biotechnology community by using the hashtag #BioGENEius.
About the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI)
California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) supports the foundations of innovation that have made California home to the world’s most prominent life sciences ecosystem. Our mission is to maintain California’s leadership in life sciences innovation through support of entrepreneurship, education and career development. CLSI also serves as an accelerator for CARB-X, the world’s largest public-private partnership devoted to early stage antibacterial R&D.
CLSI is an affiliate of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), which represents California’s leading life sciences organizations. The California Life Sciences Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3), and was established in 1990 as the BayBio Institute. For more information, visit www.califesciencesinstitute.org
About the Biotechnology Institute
The Biotechnology Institute is an independent, national nonprofit organization dedicated to education about the present and future impact of biotechnology. Its mission is to engage, excite and educate the public, particularly students and teachers, about biotechnology and its immense potential for solving human health, food and environmental problems. For more information, visit www.biotechinstitute.org.
