This May, NAVS proudly attended the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Columbus, Ohio—the world’s largest science competition for pre-college students. For the 23rd year, NAVS presented our Humane Science Award, recognizing student projects that exemplify scientific excellence and innovation while advancing research that does not harm animals. We are honored to be the only animal advocacy organization presenting an award at this prestigious event.
The fair culminated with the awards ceremony, where NAVS presented and awarded the Humane Science Award. Judging for this year’s awards was conducted by Lauren Stein, Ph.D., director of science and research programs; Pam Osenkowski, Ph.D., science advisor; Juliane Pearson, deputy executive director; Meredith Blanchard, senior manager of advocacy and policy; and Anna Madsen. After diligently reviewing 1,300 projects, and interviewing 12 students in person, five remarkable student projects were selected to receive the 2025 Humane Science Award, each receiving a $3,000 prize for their innovative, animal-free research.
We are thrilled to introduce you to this year’s awardees:
| Suraj Dixit, Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan | Biomedical Engineering Category: “OpenChip: An Accessible, Low-Cost Organ-on-a-Chip Platform for Ethical Drug Testing” |
| Aadi Nishant Bhensdadia, Pine View School, Osprey, Florida | Biomedical Engineering Category: “MicroHeart: A Novel, Structurally Accurate, Physiologically Relevant, and Scalable Heart-on-a-Chip Platform” |
| Willa Grace Olsen, Yorktown High School, Yorktown Heights, New York | Animal Sciences Category: “The Effect of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on the Social Behaviors of Lontra canadensis (North American River Otter)” |
| Gracy Hanjia Zhang and Audrey Mae Howard, South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, Hartsville, South Carolina | Biochemistry Category: “Development of Pre-Clinical Models to Study How Biophysical Forces Alter Metastatic Breast Cancer” |
| Anushka Sable, Chamblee Charter High School, Chamblee, Georgia | Biomedical and Health Sciences Category: “’Plasticoma’: A Bioengineered Platform to Study the Microplastic Pollution-Induced Cellular Pathologies and Discover Therapeutic Interventions” |
Congratulations to our exceptional awardees, whose dedication to ethical and innovative science inspires us all. Their work not only exemplifies scientific excellence but also demonstrates a commitment to compassionate research methods that spare animal lives.
NAVS also got the opportunity to participate in the fair’s Education Outreach Day, an event that sees hundreds of local students from grades 6–12 pour in to speak to the finalists and learn from different science organizations. NAVS introduced students to humane replacements for animal dissection. We spoke with students about their feelings about dissection and shared resources to help them opt out of dissection.
“ISEF Education Outreach Day is an exciting opportunity to connect directly with students and introduce them to dissection replacement tools. When we asked the students how they felt about dissection, most expressed discomfort and even disgust,” said Anna Madsen, NAVS program manager. “However, once we encouraged them to check out the replacement tools we had on display, they began to open up and become curious about learning anatomy. It’s so affirming to the work we do to see the positive impact BioLEAP’s humane education programming is having on students across the country.”
