Aditi Avinash, a Rock Canyon High School senior, is the only student from Colorado to become a finalist in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2024, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.
Aditi was one of 40 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists who advanced to the weeklong competition in Washington, D.C. Each finalist was chosen from 2,162 applicants from 712 high schools across 46 states, Puerto Rico, and 10 other countries.
The finalists were chosen based on their projects’ scientific rigor and their potential to become world-changing scientists and leaders. They were selected from 300 scholars, announced earlier this month by Regeneron and the Society for Science. Each student completed an original research project.
At the competition in D.C., Aditi was named the Seaborg Award winner and spoke on behalf of the Regeneron Science Talent Search Class of 2024. The 40 finalists chose Aditi as the student who most exemplifies their class and the extraordinary attributes of nuclear chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1951 and served on the Society for Science Board of Trustees for 30 years.
The title of Anditi’s Regeneron Science Talent Search project: Model Validation and Preclinical Testing of Digestive Enzymes for Gluten Breakdown: A Move To Cure Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease.
Aditi found a mixture of three enzymes that she believes could one day be used to reduce the effects of gluten intolerance. Aditi tested three enzymes derived from fruits previously shown to break down gluten proteins in experimental settings mimicking the acidic stomach environment. Her work indicated that combining the enzymes was more effective in breaking down gluten and reducing the immune response of T-cells than administering the enzymes sequentially. Aditi envisions creating a pill that would prevent the discomfort caused by celiac disease and gluten intolerance, allowing people with these conditions to eat wheat products.
Congratulations, Aditi!