2026 Event WINNERS
Nearly 100 students competed across 13 topical tracks.
Congratulations to all our winners and contestants!
Track #1 Applied Science
1st place: Joshua Yeboah # 8, “It’s Like Inflating a Balloon—Or Is It?”: A Lung Reinflation Strategy After Single-Lung Ventilation
2nd place: Gideon Gargar #4, Correlates of Systolic Blood Pressure Among Middle-Aged U.S. Adults: A Survey-Weighted Regression Analysis of NHANES 2017 - 2018
Track #2 Basic Science I
1st place: Eric Burns #11, Single-Molecule Tracking Reveals Amphiregulin Mediated Modulation of HER2
2nd place: Crystal Cevering #12, Woodsmoke as an Environmental Amplifier of Autoimmune Pathology in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) Mouse Model
Track # 3 Basic Science II
1st place: Xavier Deleon #16, Acid Sensing Ion Channel 1a Deficiencies Contribution to Glucose Homeostasis
2nd place: Somayeh Dadras # 15, Modulating IL-1R1/IL-1RAP Signaling: A Dual Approach to Reducing Neuroinflammation and Tau Pathology
Track # 4 Clinical
1st place: Gloria Kim #26, Biomarkers for Differentiating Good vs. Poor VEGF-Responders in Diabetic Macular Edema
2nd place: Anum Amin #22, Cognitive and Cognitive-Linguistic Interventions in Aphasia Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review of Treatment Approaches and Outcomes
Track # 5 Community Engaged Research
1st place: Haley Hughes #28, Addressing Rural Healthcare Workforce Challenges in New Mexico: Recruitment, Retention, and Policy Implications
2nd place: Abdul Ganiu Tanko #34, Developing Spatial Analysis Guidance to Support Community-Based Watershed Planning: Addressing Water Resource Challenges in Underserved Communities Affected by Extraction Activities in New Mexico.
Track #6 Diversity, Equity or Inclusion
1st place: Rachel Granzow # 37, Differential Aging: Gait Speed Disparities in Older Adults
2nd place: Charlotte Auh # 35, Hispasians in New Mexico: The Education of Mixed Race Latinx-Asian American Students in Albuquerque Public Schools
Track #7 -Environment
1st place: Cristina Coffman #44, Uranium-bearing dust disrupts the colonic mucus layer and alters goblet cell physiology
2nd place: Ansbert Aduko # 42, Climate change and water dependent systems in the Chuska Mountains: Adaptive strategies to ensure water security for communities.
Track #8-Human Body
1st place: Myranda Thompson #55, Bacterial serine protease EspP promotes enteroendocrine cell differentiation and alters mucosal immune signaling in human colonic organoids
2nd place: Monica Long #50, Investigating the Effects of Alcohol on Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cell Angiogenesis and Permeability in a 3D Model of the Neurovascular Unit
Track #9-Innovation and Technology
1st place: Teo Brandt # 59, Safe Motion Planning for Autonomous Systems Using Constraint Admissible Positive Invariant Sets
2nd place: Abid Mohammad Ali #56, Reinforcement Learning for Uplink Access Optimization in UAV-Assisted 5G Networks Under Emergency Response
Track #10-Interdisciplinary Research
1st place: Peace Ikwuemesi # 67, Sublingual siRNA Delivery for Sickle Cell Disease
2nd place: Eunice Quartey #69, FRα Targeted Liposomal DM4 Nanoparticles for Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer (PROC)
Track #11 Materials
1st place: Sneha Gupta # 73, CO₂ Mineralization of Recycled Concrete and Industrial Wastes for Carbon-Negative Cementitious Materials
2nd place- Leila Shahriari # 78, Bioinspired CO₂ Mineralization Using Tannic Acid and Ultrasonication
Track # 12- Methods and Methodology
1st place: Hannah Kaye #82, Mast cells integrate mechanical cues to fine-tune FcεRI activity
2nd place: Ryan Martinez #83, Mechanism of Adgrf5-mediated regulation of A-type Intercalated Cells
Track #13-Society, Culture & Human Experience
1st place: Erika Alvero Koski #87, Mechanism of Adgrf5-mediated regulation of A-type Intercalated Cells
2nd place: Karina Schenk #9, 'Difficult,' or autistic and has difficulty with transitions? A mixed-methods study of the impacts of internalized stigma in the lived experiences of late-diagnosed autistic women
