Aspiring space explorers need not wait to get involved in research on the International Space Station. In 2015, the Genes in Space program was established to grant students access to this extraordinary resource. Genes in Space is a competition for middle and high school students who are interested in becoming space biology pioneers. Here, the 2020 Genes in Space finalists are publishing their proposals in hopes that the creativity and careful thought they put into this work will inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators.

Central City, NE — Inspiration comes from unlikely places, like roadkill and animal droppings. It’s a project that may make some a little queasy. “Because it's about raccoon poop, that's what everyone tells me,” Sydnie Reeves said with a laugh.

Krystal Horton’s childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut took flight again when she was named as one of 25 student ambassadors for the Back To Space program, designed to bring space exploration back into popular culture. “My life is dedicated to exploring space,” said Horton, a senior at Western Center Academy in Hemet. “I have known since I was 6 and I met Sally Ride that I wanted to be involved in the space program.”

Karthik Ravi, a student at the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, recently published a scientific manuscript titled “Upregulation of the Ribosomal Pathway as a Potential Blood-Based Genetic Biomarker for Comorbid Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and PTSD” in the Journal of Emerging Investigators.

Arko Dhar, a student at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, recently published a scientific manuscript titled, “Development of Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance in Drosophila melanogaster and Characterization of Anti-Diabetic Effects of Resveratrol and Pterostilbene” in the Journal of Emerging Investigators.

Budding entrepreneur Annika Huprikar loves family board games and has a desire to teach healthy eating habits to youngsters. She combined both passions two summers ago, designing the board game FRUGGIE (for FRUITS and VEGETABLES).

Deerfield High School junior Annika Huprikar has a novel idea for how to reduce childhood obesity. She came up with a board game.

In search of scientific inspiration, Robbie Bing traveled farther from home than he had ever been last August, flying 4,350 miles to Budapest, Hungary. There he spent a month testing a theory....

What does it mean to be a scientist? In the most basic of terms, a scientist is someone who does scientific research. But what personal qualities does it take to do scientific research?

Sarah Fankhauser spent years judging middle school and high school science fairs before she realized the major disconnect. From her seat at the judge's table, she saw students who'd spent a year or more adapting the scientific method for competition. After months of designing and tweaking experiments to test hypotheses, she saw young, budding scientific minds put their work to the test, just to have the life cycle of that work come to a halt after judging was complete.

As a Harvard graduate student, Sarah Fankhauser judged a science fair at a local high school. She was thrilled to see the students’ work, but when she walked outside, she noticed that many of the projects ended up in the dumpster. Disheartened by the less-than-grande finale, Fankhauser came up with a novel idea :  what if middle and high school students could share their work beyond the school auditorium?

Noteworthy: Recently published a scientific manuscript in the Journal of Emerging Investigators titled “Comparative Gamma Radiation Analysis by Geographic Region.” The article explores the level of background gamma radiation, a type of high-energy radiation associated with serious health risks, in various areas of Pittsburgh as well as throughout North America and Europe.