Hawaii students win 12 awards from world STEM competition

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii won big at the worldʻs largest high school STEM competition, with 27 students from across the state taking home 12 awards.

Hundreds of students from across the world competed at the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair. Alex Lee from Iolani School and Amara Martin and Madison Murata, both from Kamehameha Schools, joined HNN’s Sunrise Weekends to talk about their work.

They’re among the winners from the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair.

Lee won 2nd Place and $2,000 in Cellular and Molecular Biology for his research related to Type 2 Diabetes.

“I basically found a potential biomarker that can indicate the risks of developing diabetic nephropathy, which is like a kidney disease and a leading killer in people with type two diabetes,” he said.

Martin won 4th Place in Biomedical Engineering and a $5,000 scholarship for her project to identify and mitigate renal toxicity.

“I actually used aspirin to mitigate all the fume induced renal toxicity, which is common in bipolar disorder patients,” she said.

Murata won 4th Place in Earth & Enviornmental Sciences and thousands of dollars in scholarships for her work on an invasive plant found that zinc oxide mineral sunscreens, were aiding in the growth of the invasive seaweed.

“I was kind of wanting to find a positive way to utilize this invasive seaweed since it’s so prevalent here in Hawaii. So I made plant fertilizers out of it. And then I tested these on plant growth. And I found that they increase plant growth,” she said.

The competition featured more than 1,700 projects from 70 countries and territories.

For more information on the projects, visit projectboard.world/isef/home.

Here are the winners from Hawaii:

Grand Awards - Category

(21 Categories Judged by Subject Matter Experts from across the world)

2nd Place, $2,000 - Cellular and Molecular Biology

Ming-Hao (Alex) Lee, Iolani School

Project Title: Possible Use of MicroRNA-488 as a Biomarker for Bad Prognosis in Type 2 Diabetes

3rd Place, $1,000 - Environmental Engineering

Kian Sanchez, University Laboratory School, HI

Project Title: Testing the Effectiveness of Sabellastarte spectabilis as a Potential Bioremediator

4th Place, $500 - Biomedical Engineering

Christian Roy, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus

Project Title: Cytotoxicity of Mamaki (Pipturus albidus) on LNCaP Cells

4th Place, $500 - Biomedical Engineering

Amara Martin, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus

Project Title: Identifying and Mitigating Renal Toxicity of Lithium on Bipolar Disorder Using HEK293 Cells

4th Place, $500 - Earth & Enviornmental Sciences

Madison Murata, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus

Project Title: Studies on Gracilaria salicornia: Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Sunscreen Exposure and Use as Agricultural Fertilize

4th Place, $500 - Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics

Paul Varricatt, Waiākea High School

Project Title: Modification of Induction Motor Designs for Higher Efficiency and Starting Torque

4th Place, $500 – Translational Medicine

Rachel Tao, Waiākea High School

Project Title :Identifying the Molecular Mechanisms of a Safer Neuroblastoma Cure Using the Native Hawaiian ‘Awapuhi (Zingiber zerumbet) Herb

Special Awards (Given out by Sponsoring Organizations)

Ji Yoo (Michelle) Choi, ʻIolani School, Honolulu, HI

American Psychological Association $500 Award

Project Title: Determining Whether the Onset Age of Bilingualism Enhances Cognitive Control

Madison Murata, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus

Arizona State University ISEF Scholarship (valued at up to $52,000 each)

Project Title: Studies on Gracilaria salicornia: Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Sunscreen Exposure and Use as Agricultural Fertilize

Brie-Ann Fukutomi and Penelope Tupou - Henry Perrine Baldwin High School, Wailuku, HI

Arizona State University ISEF Scholarship (valued at up to $52,000 each)

Project Title: The Effects of Coastal Erosion

Amara Martin, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus

Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT) $5,000 Award

Project Title: Identifying and Mitigating Renal Toxicity of Lithium on Bipolar Disorder Using HEK293 Cells

Madison Murata, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus

NOAA - Taking the Pulse of the Planet First Award

Project Title: Studies on Gracilaria salicornia: Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Sunscreen Exposure and Use as Agricultural Fertilize

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