May 23, 2018

Zhen Ye, a PhD student at University of Nebraska Medical Center, won the 2018 People’s Choice Award in Sigma Xi's Student Research Showcase. Her Cell Biology and Biochemistry presentation "Chol-RNAi Molecule Polyplexes of PLL-PEG for the RNAi-Mediated Treatment of Neuroblastoma" received the most votes. The People's Choice Award is selected by a public vote based solely on the merit of a presentation's video and abstract. The award consists of a certificate and a $250 cash prize. 

Ye, a Sigma Xi member, set her long-term goal on developing cholesterol-modified RNAi molecules that could be used to improve the treatment of neuroblastoma, a type of cancerous tumor that almost always affects children. Her research is investigating if certain polyplexes or ligand-targeting, or a combination, are likely to improve the efficacy or potency of RNAi molecules in-vivo so that she can justify future preclinical studies. 

The Student Research Showcase is a science communication competition for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. From April 16–May 11, 2018, qualified Sigma Xi members evaluated presentation websites from participants and selected division winners as well as winners of each research area's section.

Division winners receive $500 from Sigma Xi. All participants receive feedback from judges and a certificate of participation. Additionally, high school participants are invited to submit research papers to Sigma Xi's journal for pre-collegiate research, Chronicle of The New Researcher.  Congratulations to this year's participants!