Native America Calling: Science excellence among Native students

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Monday, March 17, 2025

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Science excellence

Two Native students are among the recent winners of one of the most prestigious science research competitions for high school students.

Logan Lee (Native Hawaiian) and Ava Grace Cummings (Lumbee and Coharie) placed in the top 10 among thousands of contestants in the Regeneron Science Talent Search. It’s the first time two Indigenous students were awarded prizes in the competition’s 83-year history.

Join Native America Calling to hear about Native students and their drive for science excellence.

Society for Science: Meet Ava Cummings, 2nd Place Winner of the 2025 Regeneron STS

From Regeneron and the Society for Science:

Second place and $175,000 went to Ava Grace Cummings, 18, of Smithfield, North Carolina, for creating a fruit fly model of STAC3 disorder, or Native American myopathy (a rare genetic muscle disease). She found that the common nettle herb, alone or combined with the experimental drug Tirasemtiv, improved movement in both adult flies and larvae.

Society for Science: STS 2025 Finalist Logan Lee

From Regeneron and the Society for Science:

Fourth Place: Logan Lee 18, of Honolulu, Hawaii received a $100,000 award for helping sterile male mosquitoes survive in the wild. These males are important in mosquito control. Logan improved their survival by giving them a transplant of wild mosquito bacteria. His transplant helped the sterile mosquitoes grow faster and survive better in the wild.

Also, check in on a children’s book highlighting the enduring connection between the Choctaw Nation and Ireland. Kindred Spirits: Shilombish Ittibachvffa comes to you from author Leslie Stall Widener and illustrator Johnson Yazzie.