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Mary Kay Awards 10 Grants To Young Innovators at 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

Grants totaling nearly $10,000 were awarded to standout high school-aged students excelling in innovative projects spanning topics from finding cures for cancers affecting women to sustainable packaging innovation.

Mary Kay judges Carrissa Dowdy, manager, product formulation, and Kristin Dasaro, director, package engineering and sustainability, awarded grants to the next generation of young women in STEM leaders. (Photos courtesy of Mary Kay Inc.)

Mary Kay Inc. returned for a second year as a Special Awards Organization at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF) in Columbus, Ohio.

Ten grants totaling nearly $10,000 were awarded to standout high school-aged students excelling in innovative projects spanning topics from finding cures for cancers affecting women to sustainable packaging innovation and protecting our planet’s most valuable resources. Each year, the event convenes nearly 2,000 participants representing more than 60 countries, with a total award pool offering over $9 million in awards and scholarships and invitations to corporate and academic events with elite global leaders in STEM.

Celebrating its 75th year, ISEF, a program of Society for Science, is among the world’s largest pre-college global STEM competitions. Through a global network of local, regional and national science fairs, millions of students are encouraged to explore their passion for scientific inquiry. Each spring, a group of these students is selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to compete for approximately $9 million in awards and scholarships at the annual Regeneron ISEF.

“The ingenuity, passion and innovation demonstrated by these young STEM leaders are awe-inspiring,” said Carrissa Dowdy, manager of product formulation at Mary Kay. “Their work has the potential to transform industries, drive sustainable advancements, and accelerate major breakthroughs in fields like cancer research, material science, and environmental engineering. Mary Kay is proud to stand behind them as they shape the future of STEM.”

Meet the Award Winners

Kristin Dasaro, director, package engineering and sustainability at Mary Kay, right, greets Brazilian cancer researcher, Carolina de Araujo Pereira da Silva, who received back-to-back awards from Mary Kay for innovative findings in the malignancy of tumors.

Pragathi Kasani-Akula, Georgia – Multi-Color Magneto-Fluorescent Nanoarchitectures for the Targeted Identification of Exosomes of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Grace Liu, New York – Evaluating Gender Disparities Due to Decision-Making Under Uncertainty in Entrepreneurship: A Panel Data Analysis

Alina Albeik, Virginia – Implications of Resveratrol on Memory Retention in Dugesia tigrina

Kaili Tseng and Leila Gheysar, California – Bombyx mori Antimicrobial Peptides: A Novel and Sustainable Catalyst for Cancer Cell Growth Inhibition and Death

Elisabeth Fischermann and Tom Kressbach, Bavaria, Germany – On the Hunt for Free Radicals With a Blue Light Reaction

Ela Doruk Korkmaz, Istanbul, Turkey – Investigation of Potential Anti-Cancer Impacts of Coffee Bean-Derived Exosomes Through Anti-Proliferative and Apoptosis Inducing Effects on Melanoma Skin Cancer Cells via Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling Pathway

Carolina de Araujo Pereira da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Salinomycin as a Molecular Trojan Horse for Targeting Mn-Induced Malignancy in Aggressive Tumors

Sofia Nunes, Maranhao, Brazil – Formulation of Low-Cost Artificial Skin for Cellular Regeneration and Severe Burns Treatment

Margareth Ac-ac, Negros Oriental, Philippines – SKIMP: Artificial Intelligence- Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) Portable Skin Cancer Detection Device With Skin Cancer Notifier Python-Based Program

Kamila Rotger-Costas and Miranda Sanz-Alvarez, Guaynabo and Caguas, Puerto Rico – EcoReishiFlex: An Innovative Sustainable Biodegradable Plastic Alternative Made From Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi Fungi) Polysaccharides.

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