Laia Bent | University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Canada

Laia is a rising senior hoping to pursue degrees in global health and biochemistry. Outside of school, she dedicates her time to biochemistry research, STEM outreach in vulnerable communities, and model UN. She also loves playing the cello and composing music, and will be a featured composer with her city’s philharmonic orchestra this summer. In the future, she hopes to work towards the eradication of diseases like malaria and HIV, removing the burden of disease from endemic communities and lifting them out of poverty.

Janvi Huria | Marquette High School, Chesterfield, MO

Janvi is a rising senior, and she is passionate about the intersection of gender and healthcare. Through her nonprofit work, she helps companies recognize the necessity for consideration of gender-specific differences and increase awareness of the potency of these issues to new audiences. She has extensively volunteered with gender-based violence organizations to provide resources to victims and combat the harmful notions contributing to this violence. Additionally, she writes about gender issues on her blog which has amassed thousands of viewers. She hopes to enter the field of women's health where she can help dismantle the dangers of male-centric medicine.

Abby Lynch | The Bolles School, Jacksonville, FL

Abby Lynch is a rising senior at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. She loves to play soccer, row, go to the beach, volunteer, and travel. She is also very passionate about Spanish and Neuroscience, and is looking forward to studying both areas in the future.

Aditya Billur | Downingtown STEM Academy, Downingtown, PA

Aditya is a rising senior at the Downingtown STEM Academy. His favorite subjects in school are biology, chemistry, and psychology. Two of his favorite hobbies are being part of his school's marching band as an alto saxophonist and playing cricket with youth and adult teams. Both activities have taught him many life lessons such as the importance of teamwork, communication, and leadership skills. Currently, he is planning to pursue a career in medicine.

Kevina Wang | Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA

Kevina is a rising senior at Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia. In her free time, she loves to dance and spend time with family and friends. At school, she is actively involved in science national honor society, DECA, and varsity dance team. Outside of school, she loves to volunteer at her local hospital and community centers, and she has started an organization called Heads Up Teens dedicated to helping teens with mental health. She is passionate about mental health awareness and interested in medicine and business and hope to pursue a career at the intersection of these interests.

Lauren Robinson | Jones College Prep, Chicago, IL

Lauren Robinson is a rising sophomore at Jones College Prep in Chicago. Lauren created Foodvie, a web app for people with food allergies and vegan preferences. She has placed at national competitions for entrepreneurship and public speaking. Lauren has also been a featured panelist and keynote speaker at several events including the American Heart Association’s “EmPOWERED VOICES” summit. Lauren currently intends to pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering and has been admitted to summer science programs at multiple universities. She also enjoys singing, poetry, theater, golf, and spending time with family and friends.

Yara Changyit-Levin | John Burroughs School, St. Louis, MO

Yara is a passionate student advocate for global health, the environment, and more human rights issues. She is the co-leader of the RESULTS St. Louis global poverty group, and co-leader of MUN Impact, UNICEF Club, Extra Hands for ALS, and a branch of the Sunrise Movement at her school. She also writes about her adventures in advocacy on her blog.

Jay Luo | St. George's School, Vancouver, Canada

Jay is an incoming freshman at Johns Hopkins with prospective majors in biophysics and molecular & cellular biology. With an interests in genomics, Jay hopes to venture into academic or industrial research in the future, building on research experience at the University of British Columbia. A strong believer in science and health education, Jay has also spent the past months working on Lifting The Pyramid, which was presented in this conference. Jay spends his free time reading magazines, browsing wholesome content on YouTube, playing tennis, and cooking.

Carolyn Colman | Jones College Prep, Chicago, IL

Carolyn is a rising senior at Jones College Prep in Chicago. She is class president, on the board of her school’s chapter of Best Buddies, and co-captain of her school’s Varsity Girls Golf team. She is fascinated by the brain and hopes to study neuroscience in college with the intent of attending medical school. In her spare time, Carolyn enjoys reading, playing the piano and violin, and studying Korean.

Ria Medagam | Downingtown STEM Academy, Downingtown, PA

Ria is a rising senior at the Downingtown STEM Academy in Downingtown, PA. She has a strong interest in medicine, business, and technology, and she plans to pursue a STEM-related major in college. Her passion for medicine was fostered through her experiences volunteering at her local hospital’s ER and working as a MYELIN contributor for the International Youth Neuroscience Association. Ria is also heavily involved in FBLA, having been a chapter officer and national level winner in the club. In her free time, Ria enjoys playing tennis, watching movies, and hanging out with friends and family.

Kheira Bekkadja | Thomas Edison High School, Alexandria, VA

Kheira, originally from Algeria, born and raised in Northern Virginia, is a rising senior in high school. After her own difficult transition from private to public school, Kheira decided to create an outlet for students to talk about difficult subjects, with a focus on mental health. Her club: Edison’s Minds Matter, works to create a school environment that encourages open discussion of mental health, individual empowerment, use of appropriate mental health resources, and positive coping strategies. Additionally, Kheira is an executive within LeadPeace, a youth-led organization with a mission to empower local youth to become community leaders and create initiatives that they’re passionate about utilizing peace-building and conflict resolution skills. Her passion lies to help empower youth and show them that they’re capable of impacting the world, despite their barriers, by availing their flourishing self-confidence, the power of their voice, and their stamina to manifest their goals.

Adam Zafrani | Staten Island Technical High School, Staten Island, NY

Adam is a rising sophomore at Staten Island Technical High School. He enjoys playing the trumpet in 5 different bands. He recently finished a pre-college course “Medical School Intensive” at Johns Hopkins University which taught him the basics of the field of medicine and applying to medical school. He is interested in majoring biomedical engineering possibly on the pre-medical track in college and hopes to go into the field of medicine.

Lucy Kim | Oakton High School, Vienna, VA

Lucy is a rising junior at Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia. Some of her extracurricular activities include HOBY State Leadership Conference, Medical Intensive Summer School at Johns Hopkins, TED Talk Translator, Oakton High School Dance Team other nonprofit organizations and school clubs in the medical field. Her current career plans include the field of biomedical engineering, to research more about the effects of human inequalities in medical treatments at college, and to volunteer for people who are in need of medical care.

Shriya Iyer | Munster High School, Munster, IN

Shriya is a senior at Munster High School in Munster, Indiana. She is involved in speech and debate, student government, orchestra, tennis, and Science Olympiad. She is also a volunteer at her local hospital. Her ambition is to study medicine and become a physician.

Samara Rezwan | Wausau East High School, Wausau, WI

Samara is a rising sophomore at Wausau East High School in Wisconsin. She is part of the student council leadership team and is the president of three organization chapters called Distressed Children and Infants International (DCI), Vision Impairment Screening and Intervention for Optical Needs (VISION), and Health Peer Advisors and Liaisons also known as (HealthPALs) of Wausau East High School. She also volunteers both locally and internationally at a women and children’s clinic in Bangladesh. Additionally, she is on her school's varsity tennis team and has danced for 10 years. In the future, she plans to go into the medical field as a physician.

Jaden Bhogal | University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Canada

Jaden is a rising senior at the University of Toronto Schools in Ontario, Canada. His extracurricular activities include track & field, cross country, drumming, competing at DECA, and playing chess. He is very passionate about phage technology, and hopes to go into a career path where he can study the subject matter and use it to help solve large global health challenges such as antibiotic resistance.

Minoli Ediriweera | Sherwood High School, Olney, MD

Minoli is a rising senior who is very passionate about medicine. She has written several medical op-ed’s/blogs and started her own school club to fundraise for Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC. She is also a CNA and an orthodontics intern. In the future, she would like to continue her journey in global health and work for global relief programs like Doctors without Borders or the Red Cross. Her dream job is working as a Pediatric Oncologist.

Charlotte Cunningham | Washington-Liberty High School, Arlington, VA

Charlotte is a rising Sophomore at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, VA. She has participated in school science fairs through the regional level in the categories of Chemistry and Medicine & Health. In addition, she has presented her research papers at the annual Virginia Junior Academy Symposium for the past three years. Outside of her research, she runs her own licensed neighborhood business and enjoys writing, running, and volunteering in community projects. Charlotte’s career goal is to travel the world, write scientific papers, and study medicine concerning infants and young children. She is currently interested in pursuing an academic program in college that combines medicine, research, and business to become a global health leader.

Nouraldeen Ibrahim | Staten Island Technical High School, Staten Island, NY

Nouraldeen is a rising junior at Staten Island Technical High School. Nouraldeen is very interested in the medical field and enjoys supporting his community and helping others. As the Vice President of his local volunteer ambulance organization, he earns first aid certifications and helps the organization grow by organizing community-engaging events. Nouraldeen has a passion for scientific research and currently works with a professor at Wagner College to perform a research project using the program Mathematica which utilizes machine learning. Aside from his academic interests, Nouraldeen likes to play soccer, draw and learn new things.

Claire Song | Dublin High School, Dublin, CA

Claire is a sophomore attending Dublin High School in Dublin, California, and is currently enrolled in the biomedical academy. She was the freshman delegate of Future Health Professionals (HOSA), and is a staff writer of Dublin Shield, the school newspaper. Claire has played piano for over 8 years and has recently completed MTAC’s level 10 advanced piano, earning both state and branch honor. She is PADI certified as an open water diver and is strongly interested in art. She has a strong passion and works towards entering the biomedical field.

Vainavi Gambhir | Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, MD

Vainavi is a certified children's yoga teacher and foundational Ayurveda therapist currently studying at Walter Johnson High with a passion for child and adolescent health. Her other interests include public speaking, art, and writing poetry.

Gobind Singh | Downingtown STEM Academy, Downingtown, PA

Gobind is a rising junior at Downingtown STEM Academy. Along with being a student, he is multilingual and a real estate investor and advisor in West Philadelphia. He also advises another nonprofit organization in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Additionally, he is the president of two nonprofit clubs, and he works to always wants to elevate his community and serve those in need.

Saloni Chaurasia | Rock Bridge High School, Columbia, MO

Saloni is a rising sophomore at Rock Bridge High School passionate about medicine and her community. She is actively involved in many activities, including Speech and Debate, Science Olympiad, HOSA, volunteering, and her local town's hospital outreach program. She also co-founded a club at her high school, named Rock Bock Bridge Grows to Give, which bridges together sustainable farming and serving the community.

Gitanjali Alapati | James Clemens High School, Madison, AL

Gitanjali is a rising senior at James Clemens High School, Madison City, Alabama. She studied in India until her Sophomore year and performed at the top of her school in academics. She served as School Captain in the sophomore year. She is passionate about serving the underprivileged and leads efforts to help the local village through sanitation drives and spending time at a senior center. Gitanjali volunteered at a non-profit organization called Akshaya Patra which runs Food for Education program serving children in government schools. She is pursuing her dream of becoming a medical professional.

Shruti Gautam | Rock Bridge High School, Columbia, MO

Shruti Gautam is a rising senior in Columbia, Missouri. An advocate for menstrual equity, Shruti is an active member of her local political scene. She has worked with political candidates and looks forward to doing so in the future as well. Shruti also is interested in mental health, as she has worked in neuroscience labs since she was 14. Outside of the professional world, she enjoys biking on trails, reading, music, and movies.

Sara Razavi | Oakton High School, Vienna, VA

Sara, who is extremely passionate in multiple subjects, is a self-motivated and hardworking individual and that always aspires to make the world a better place and to be a better person than the day before. In Sara's free time, she aims to constantly find different ways to help people, such as tutoring low-income families and volunteering in her local hospital and different communities. Her hobbies include reading, painting, playing sports, writing stories and poems, traveling, intra and interfaith dialogue, and playing piano.

Arezu Fayyazi | The Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore, MD

Arezu is a sophomore at the Bryn Mawr School for girls in Baltimore. Her family is originally from Afghanistan, but has relocated to Maryland. Since she has saw first-hand how women and their children are treated so poorly in Afghanistan, she is extremely interested in maternal and child health in third world and developing countries. Her goal is to go back to Afghanistan one day and build a school and community clinic with her mother to provide services to struggling mothers and children.

Nikitha Kanumuru and Aparna Vagvala | Downingtown STEM Academy, Downingtown, PA

Nikitha is a junior from Downingtown STEM academy who wants to continue to make a positive change through H2C and other means. She is passionate about making science education more accessible around the world as well as making science fun for everyone.

Aparna is a rising junior at the Downingtown STEM Academy and has always been passionate about making difference, leading her to start her service project, H2C. In her free time she likes to take part in various charitable projects. In the future, she would like to take H2C to new heights and hopes to one day make a positive difference and expand H2C's initiatives to multiple different areas of need.

Varshini Madhavan | Marquette High School, Ballwin, MO

Varshini is a rising senior at Marquette High School and is involved in Mock Trial, Youth and Government, community service, the YMCA Youth Conference On National Affairs, and NHS. She is a first-generation immigrant who moved to the US from India before before her sophomore year. She is the Vice President of Girl up, a presiding officer for the 2020 Missouri Youth and Government Conference, and an intern at KUTO (a crisis/suicide helpline). She is passionate about global health and politics, and enjoys watching Netflix and painting in her free time.

Hana Choi | James W. Robinson Secondary School, Fairfax, VA

Hana Choi is a rising sophomore at Robinson Secondary School. She aspires to be a neurosurgeon, practicing and contributing to the global health community. She enjoys participating in various extracurriculars such as track and field, volunteering at hospitals, tutoring, and various of medical internships and conferences.

Adeline Daab | Walter Payton College Prep, Chicago, IL

Nayana Celine Xavier | Chantilly High School, Chantilly, VA

Katherine Holekamp | John Burroughs School, St. Louis, MO

Steven Wu | Camas High School, Camas, WA

Vishnu Kumar | Marquette High School, Chesterfield, MO

Sri Konagalla | Chantilly High School, Chantilly, VA

Sri is a rising senior at Chantilly High School in Northern Virginia. She is planning to major in psychology on the premed track. Sri has been a professional dancer of a classical Indian dance style called Bharatnatyam for about 11 years and hopes to continue it in college. Additionally, she is passionate about getting proper medical care to low-income and impoverished families around the world; she went on a service trip to Peru, where she was able to see firsthand the horrifying extent of poverty. Since then, she has been advocating for these low-income communities through a non-profit organization called MEDLIFE.

Alexandra Meriales | Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, Gilroy, CA