Talk of Friendswood / Education
Friendswood Student Named National Science Finalist for Dementia Research
Myreen Ahsan’s computational research earns recognition in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.
By Talk of Friendswood
FRIENDSWOOD — Myreen Ahsan of Friendswood Junior High has been named one of 30 national finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, earning recognition for a project investigating potential avenues for dementia research.
Society for Science announced the finalists September 16. Selected from the competition’s Top 300 Junior Innovators, they will gather in Washington, D.C., for Finals Week October 23–28.
The organizer’s official profile lists Ahsan as an eighth grader. Her project uses computer modeling and machine learning to investigate molecules related to frontotemporal dementia.
Turning a research question into a testable idea
Ahsan examined how molecules might bind to targets involving tau, a protein central to the biological processes her project investigated. The profile describes training a machine learning model on 1,363 molecules, then applying it to another 46,320. That work identified 129 candidates she hopes to test in a laboratory.
Those are computational findings that point toward further investigation. The published project description does not establish that any candidate is a safe or effective treatment.
That context helps explain the purpose of a screening project: to develop a better basis for deciding what deserves more testing. Identifying a candidate is a step in a much longer scientific process.
A national stage in October
During Finals Week, judges will assess students’ research along with their communication, creativity and collaboration during team challenges. The finalists represent 17 states and Puerto Rico, according to the organizer’s announcement.
Each finalist receives $500 and will compete for more than $100,000 in awards, including the $25,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific ASCEND Award. Finalists’ schools are also recognized with $1,000 for STEM activities.
For Friendswood, the selection offers an opportunity to celebrate student achievement beyond the classroom while following how a research idea develops under scrutiny. October’s competition will ask Ahsan and her fellow finalists to explain their work and solve problems together.
Ahsan’s interests extend beyond computing and science. Her finalist profile says she has practiced Bollywood dance since age four and hopes to become a neurologist.