2025 Conference

The 12th Annual High School GIDAS Research Conference

Neurodegenerative Disease

Keynote Speaker

Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D.

Former Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute
(NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Dr. Erc Green is the former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 2009-2025. Dr. Green was at the Institute for nearly 30 years, during which he has had multiple key leadership roles. He served as the Institute’s scientific director for 7 years, chief of the NHGRI Genome Technology Branch for 13 years, and founding director of the NIH Intramural Sequencing Center for 12 years.

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025 (12:00 pm – 5:30 pm Eastern Time | 9:00 am – 2:30 pm Pacific Time)

Location: Hybrid (online or one of the following in-person sites)

– University of Michigan, Undergraduate Science Building: 204 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

– Scripps Research Translational Institute: 3344 N Torrey Pines Ct, La Jolla, CA 92037

– University of San Francisco, Medical Sciences Building: 513 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94143 (tentative)

Participants: Open to the public, including middle school students and adults.

Fees:

– General registration fee: $40 (workshops included)

– Presenter registration fee: $50 (includes general registration fee and conference proceedings)

– Accompanying parents: Free ($10 donation suggested)

– Conference proceedings (abstract booklet): $15

If you present, you will…

– Meet professional scientists and connect with peers who share your interest in science

– Grow in professionalism through researching, writing, and presenting on science topics

– Develop public speaking skills in a larger group setting

– Compete for science presentation awards

Registration

Only after you register the conference, you will get access to the abstract and “About Me” submission. Please use the same email used in conference registration. You are qualified as a presenter if you are an author of an Abstract.

Instructions Form link Deadline

All attendees:
1.) Register for the conference using the form. Edits are accepted until the deadline.
2.) Pay the registration fee below.



Registration options

Student Name:


April 13, 2025, 11:59 PM (ET)
Each abstract:
Have a single author submit your abstract using the form (i.e. each abstract should be submitted once in total). Abstracts will undergo a review to qualify for oral presentations and to be included in the conference proceedings (abstract booklet). You can access the form only after you register the conference above.		 Abstract submission March 23, 2025, 11:59 PM (ET)
All abstract authors:
Submit your About Me using the form. These will be included in the conference proceedings along with your abstract. You can access the form only after you register the conference above.		 About Me submission March 23, 2025, 11:59 PM (ET)

Presentation material for each submitted abstract:
Have a single author submit your presentation or poster using the form. 

Please note that the link will be open one week before the conference date.

 Presentation submission April 16, 2025, 11:59 PM (ET)

 

Conference Agenda

11:30 – 12:00 pm ET

(8:30 – 9:00 am PT)

 Check-in

12:00 – 1:00 pm ET

(9:00 – 10:00 am PT)

Workshops

– Atomic Habit: Activity to learn selfcare tools led by Ms. Veena Thamilselvan

– GEO2R and String-db: Learn computational resources used in the research process

– Transition from high school to college: Interact with college students to hear their experiences and to ask questions

– miRcore and High School students: Talk with parents led by Dr. Inhan Lee

1:00 – 1:05 pm ET

(10:00 – 10:05 am PT)

 Greetings from miRcore President Inhan Lee, Ph.D.

1:05 – 1:55 pm ET

(10:05 – 10:55 am PT)

Student Oral Presentations I

Session Chair: Henry Paulson, M.D., Ph.D.

– Tejaaswin Raja, Nishka Karam, Eliana Liu, Shravya Narasimhan, Faaris Khan, Noor-ul-Iman. Implication of Neuronal Vesicle Formation Dysfunction in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

– Andrea Zou, Aiden Kang, Saanvi Sama, Shreya Shetty. Innate Immunity: KIR and HLA’s Role in Preventing and Addressing Parkinson’s Disease

– Medha Aravind. Celecoxib identified as cost-effective STAT3 inhibitor for Multiple Sclerosis treatment

– Aayush Veerabhadran. Bulk and Spatial Single Cell Analysis of the TREM2-mediated Signaling Mechanism and Disease Classification of ALS

– Bikramjeet Saini, Angad Chauhan. Upregulation of IRF7 Regulated Interferon-β Signaling and Neuroinflammation in Multiple Sclerosis

– Lakshmi Medha Dhullipala. MAPK Dysregulation in the Primary Visual Cortex of Alzheimer’s Disease: Distinct Pathways in EOAD and LOAD

1:55 – 2:10 pm ET

(10:55 – 11:10 am PT)

 Break

2:10 – 3:10 pm ET

(11:10 am – 12:10 pm PT)

 Poster Session

3:10 – 3:30 pm ET

(12:10 – 12:30 pm PT)

 Break

3:30 – 4:15 pm ET

(12:30 – 1:15 pm PT)

Keynote Address:

Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D.

Former Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The Story of Human Genomics: Eric’s Version

4:15 – 4:30 pm ET

(1:15 – 1:30 pm PT)

 Break

4:30 – 5:15 pm ET

(1:30 – 2:15 pm PT)

Student Oral Presentations II

Session Chair: Veera Baladandayuthapani, Ph.D.

– Surya Biju Nambiar, Rithvik Venisetty, Pierce Cai, Solah Han, Ian Jeong, Vedanth Kondur. Genetic Insights into Immune-Mediated Neurodegeneration Comparing Multiple Sclerosis and Graft vs. Host Disease

– Vrinda Iyengar, Grace Li. The Importance of Maintaining Normal Circadian Rhythms in Individuals with Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease

– Hadie Alabbas. Effects of Membrane Proteins on Action Potential According to the Hodgkin-Huxley Model

– Chi-Hsuan Tu, Shamah Telhaoui, Levi Dubroff, Vedant Srinivasan. Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Impaired Endocannabinoid Signaling in Alzheimer’s Disease

– Yeonjoon Ha, Kate King, Rana Nagoji, Keshav Ashock. An Analysis on the Role of Cellular Senescence in Skeletal Muscle Cells of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

– Meher Garg. Downregulation of Gastric Acid Secretion Pathways in Alzheimer’s: Implications for Autonomic Dysfunction and Gastrointestinal Symptoms

5:15 – 5:40 pm ET

(2:15 – 2:40 pm PT)

 2024-25 GIDAS Activity Reports and Conference Awards

5:40 pm ET

(2:40 pm PT)

 Closing

Oral Presentations

We selected 12 oral presentations among abstracts submitted by March 23. We thank all, abstract judges, for their scoring the abstracts. Certificates will be given to the best three presenters/groups based on their scores.

Poster Presentations

All virtual poster presenters (including Honorable Mention) should prepare a six-minute (maximum) presentation to pitch their research to conference attendees (flexible format; simply deliver the content in an engaging way).

For a physical poster to present at the University of Michigan, Scripps, and University of San Francisco, our recommended poster size is 32″ (width) X 40″ (height). However, we can accommodate other sizes up to 48″ (width).
Please check in with your poster and set it up by 12:00 pm (noon) ET (9 am PT).

Poster Examples Here

Poster Judges

These professionals will engage each poster presenter in a discussion about their research and provide feedback.

Popular votes

The general audience will also vote on poster presentations.

Certificates

Certificates will be given to the best three poster presenters/groups as graded by the judges; the three most popular posters, as selected by conference attendees, will also receive certificates.

Conference Proceedings

2025 cover designed by Cathy Park

If you want to publish your abstract in the conference proceedings but not competing for an oral presentation, please submit your research abstract and your “About Me” with your picture in Word (.docx) format by March 30, 2025 (refer to “Abstract Submission” below).

Even if you miss the deadline to publish, you can still bring in your research poster and compete for the poster presentation award. However, you should submit your poster abstract content to us by 11:59 pm, Sunday, April 6, 2025 to be considered for a poster presentation (judge assigned).

2025 Conference Awards

The Best Research – Oral Presentations

1st:

The Best Poster Presentation

1st:

The Most Popular Poster

1st:

 Sponsors:

WISE

Past Conferences

Click here to view the booklets from past conferences.

Here you can find information about the conferences from past years.

2024 Conference

2023 Conference

2022 Conference

2021 Conference

2020 Conference

2019 Conference

2018 Conference

2017 Conference

2016 Conference

2015 Conference

2014 Conference