Virginia Bio and the Virginia Bioscience Foundation have named Albemarle High School’s, Meenakshi “Meena” Ambati, as the winner of the 2021 Virginia BioGENEius Challenge, the premier competition for high school students that recognizes outstanding research and innovation in the biotechnology field. As the Virginia BioGENEius finalist, Meena will attend the 2021 BIO Digital Conference, where she will engage with leading companies, scientists and innovators currently transforming the scientific landscape in order to gain invaluable insights into an industry making significant contributions to the world.
Meena’s project was titled “Identification of Fluoxetine as a direct NLRP3 inhibitor to treat atrophic macular degeneration: Molecular modeling, Mechanism, Morphometry, and Meta-analysis (Year 2)”. The project was selected by an independent panel of volunteer judges representing the Virginia Bio membership.