Congratulations to Neil Deshmukh ’20 for taking home the 2019 BioGENEius Challenge grand prize at the BIO International Convention (BIO 2019), hosted by The Biotechnology Institute last week in Philadelphia.

The BioGENEius Challenge is the premier competition for high school students from across the globe that recognizes outstanding research and innovation in biotechnology. This year, the 15 finalists – including Neil – came from across the United States and Canada, having won state or regional science competitions or through the Institute’s at-large national competition to vie for recognition in any of three Global Challenge categories: Healthcare, Sustainability (AgBIo) and Industrial/Environmental Biotechnology.

Judged by industry and academic experts, Neil’s research on a low cost, scalable device for offline medical analysis stood out among the impressive research from his fellow finalists. Along with the top honor, Neil returned home with a cash prize of $7,500.

Said Seema Kumar, Vice President, Innovation, Global Public Health and Science Policy Communication, Johnson & Johnson: “Every year, we are incredibly impressed with all of the talented young people who compete in the BioGENEius Challenge. This year’s winner, Neil Deshmukh, especially wowed us with his innovative thinking and spirit of tenacity, curiosity, and passion for humanity that leads to major breakthroughs in human health. We are pleased to provide support to the Biotechnology Institute and the BioGENEius Challenge, and we hope to fuel young scientists like Neil and all of the BioGENEius participants by expanding our commitment to champion science through the Dr. Paul Janssen Project.”

Congratulations, Neil!

Watch this Good Day Bio interview with Neil about his project: