Our Partner Network
The Institute works with certain state partners who select their finalists for the BioGENEius Challenge. If your state is part of our State Partners network, you must advance through their state or regional competitions before being nominated for the BioGENEius competition. Information on how and where you may compete in your state is provided below. Students in states outside of our Partner network may compete through the Institute's At-Large process. The At-Large process is a virtual judging competition open to any student grades 9-12. Whether you are a State Partner nominee or a student in a state out of the partner network, you must complete the Institute's BioGENEius application using the link below. All applicants must pay strict attention to the Rules and Guidelines before submitting. Only complete applications can be considered.
The California Life Sciences (CLS) Bay Area BioGENEius Challenge, sponsored by Amgen, recognizes outstanding high school research conducted by students in the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding counties. The first-place winner will advance to compete in the 2024 International BioGENEius Challenge. This spring, up to 28 high school students will be selected to present their research to judges in an on-site program at the Amgen in South San Francisco, which also includes a celebratory awards program and opportunities to connect with life sciences industry professionals.
Date of competition: No information at this time
Applications Deadline: No information at this time
Where: California Life Sciences Event Center, 165 Gateway Blvd., South San Francisco
Competition website: https://www.califesciences.org/biogeneius/
To apply to your CLSI Bay Area BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For general information contact:
Johnson Yang
California Life Sciences Institute
Southern California BioGENEius Challenge
The Southern California BioGENEius Challenge is conducted by the Southern California Biomedical Council (SoCalBio), the trade organization representing more than 900 bioscience companies in the 5 county Greater Los Angeles area. The competition draws students from all southern California, south of San Luis Obispo to the Mexican border. The 2024 BioGENEius finalist from Southern California will be chosen by SoCalBio judges from registered participants of the annual California Science & Engineering Fair (CSEF). The SoCal BioGENEius selection process will occur on the day of CSEF.
Date of competition: April 16, 2024 (judging online)
Application deadline: March 28, 2024
Competition website: https://csef.usc.edu/
For general information contact:
Tom Lobl, Ph.D.
Southern California Biomedical Council
e: Tom.Lobl@usc.edu
The Colorado BioGENEius Challenge draws its finalist from the Colorado State Science Fair (CSSF). CSSF provides opportunities for students to present their research in environments that nurture interest in science and technology annually in Fort Collins. The competition promotes professional skills, high ethical standards, diversity, and continuing intellectual development.
Date of competition: April 11-13, 2024
Application deadline: April 1, 2024
Competition website: http://www.csef.colostate.edu/
For general information contact:
Courtney Butler
Colorado State University
e: courtney.butler@colostate.edu
p: (970) 491-7716
The Delaware State BioGENEius Challenge is hosted by the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. Delaware students, grades 9 – 12, can compete in the Delaware BioGENEius Challenge, during the three local science fairs – the New Castle, Kent and Sussex County Science Fairs. The winner of the Delaware BioGENEius Challenge, held in conjunction with these three local science fairs moves on as the Delaware BioGENEius finalist.
Dates of competition:
New Castle: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
e: sw-sciencefair@dtcc.edu
p: (302) 453-3075
Sussex County Science Fair: Monday, March 3-4, 2024
Delaware Technical Community College – Owens Campus
Robert Schroeder
e: rdschroe711@gmail.com
Helen Gieske
e: hgieske@verizon.net
https://www.sussexcountysciencefair.org/
Kent: Cancelled for 2024. Students to apply to New Castle and Sussex.
Competition websites:
New Castle: https://www.dtcc.edu/about/news/events/science-fair
Sussex: http://www.sussexcountysciencefair.org/welcome.htm
To apply to the DE State BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For general information contact:
Camille Sims-Johnson, Ed.D
e: cdsimsj@udel.edu
w: https://www.dbi.udel.edu/biogeneius
The Georgia BioGENEius Competition is held during the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF) in Athens. The competition is open to any Georgia student, regardless of whether they qualified for GSEF and who are doing outstanding research in biotechnology.
Date of competition: April 12, 2024
Application deadline: April 7, 2024
Competition website: https://gabio.org/georgia-bioed/georgia-bioed-programs/biogeneius/
To apply to your GA State BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For information contact:
Maria Thacker Goethe
The Center for Global Health Innovation (CGHI) Inc.
e: mthacker@gabio.org
p: (404) 966-2027
Megan Heaphy
e: mheaphy@cghi.org
p: (404) 920-2042
(Please leave a voicemail at this office line and send an email.)
The Illinois BioGENEius Challenge is conducted by the Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization (iBIO), a life sciences industry association that represents the nearly 88,000 life sciences employees at member companies, universities, service providers and venture firms. Each spring students from across the state compete for first place, a cash prize and the opportunity to present his or her research at the BIO International Conference.
Date of competition: April 25, 2024
Application deadline: TBA
Competition website: www.ibio.org/educate/biogeneius
To apply to your IL BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For information contact:
Ann Vogel
Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization
e: avogel@ibio.org
p: (312) 422-1111
The Iowa BioGENEius Challenge is coordinated by the Iowa Biotechnology Association (IowaBio). Local Iowa students in grades 9 through 12 who participate in the annual State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa (SSTFI) will be considered to be the recipient of the Iowa BioGENEius Challenge award! The winner of the Iowa BioGENEius Challenge receives a stipend to cover their travel and accommodations to compete against other regional winners at the International BioGENEius Challenge
Date of competition: April 4-5, 2024 (SSTFI)
Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
Application deadline: February 28, 2024 (SSTFI)
Competition info: https://www.iowabio.org/en/resources/stem/biogeneius_challenge/
For information contact:
Melanie Brown
Iowa Biotechnology Association (IowaBio)
e: melanie@iowabio.org
p: (515) 327-9156
The Maine BioGENEius Challenge is a competition for Maine high school students who do research with a biotech/life sciences focus. This regional challenge is coordinated by the Bioscience Association of Maine (BioME). Local Maine students in grades 9 through 12 can compete in the Maine BioGENEius Challenge, which is held during the BioME Student Showcase event in Portland.
Date of competition: April 27, 2024
Application deadline: April 5, 2024
Competition info: https://biomaine.org/events/student_showcase-2024/
To apply to your ME BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For information contact:
Agnieszka Carpenter
Bioscience Association of Maine (BioME)
e: agnieszka@mainebioscience.org
p: (207) 808-8889
Together with the Biotechnology Institute, Learning Undefeated hosts the virtual Maryland BioGENEius Challenge. Maryland students in grades 9-12 with original research in biotechnology are encouraged to apply. The Maryland finalist will have the opportunity to represent Maryland at the International BioGENEius Challenge during the annual BIO Conference in 2024.
Maryland Application Deadline: April 8, 2024
Judging will take place April 15-19, 2024
Winners notified on April 24, 2024
Maryland Finalist announced on May 13, 2024
Competition information: https://www.learningundefeated.org/project/biogeneius-challenge/
For information contact:
Ali Main
Maryland Learning Undefeated
e: ali@learningundefeated.org
p: (240) 552-9315
The New Mexico BioGENEius Challenge is a competition for high school students doing original research in biotechnology. Students must qualify through one of six Regional Fairs to advance to the 2024 New Mexico Science and Engineering Fair state competition.
Date of Competition: April 12-13, 2024 (NMSEF)
Application deadline: March 31, 2024 (NMSEF)
Region Competition info: https://www.nmt.edu/stem/sciencefair/
State Competition info: https://www.nmt.edu/stem/sciencefair/studentinfo.php
For information contact:
Greg Byrnes
New Mexico Bio (NMBio)
e: greg@nmbio.org
p: (610) 731-3671
For State competition information, please contact:
NMSEF Director: Sharon Sessions at sharon.sessions@nmt.edu
NMSEF Coordinator: Ann Dunklee at ann.dunklee@nmt.edu
In order to participate in the 2024 North Carolina BioGENEius Challenge, students must first compete in their District competitions to qualify for the state NC Student Academy of Sciences (NCSAS) competition. District application deadlines competitions run from December 2023 to February 2024. High school students will have to place either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their category to qualify for the state competition which will take place virtually in March. One finalist will be selected to attend the 2024 BIO International Conference and represent North Carolina in the BioGENEius competition.
District competitions: Application deadlines and competition dates are District specific.
District competition info: https://www.ncsas.org/competitions
NCSAS State Competition: March 22, 2024
Applications open following the Regional competitions.
Application deadline: State Registration closes March 10, 2024
NCSAS State competition info: https://www.ncsas.org/registration
For information contact:
Dr. Kim Monahan
NC Student Academy of Sciences (NCSAS)
e: monahan@ncssm.edu
The Pennsylvania BioGENEius Challenge is hosted by the Biotechnology Department of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. This competition represents research projects by high school students selected from several regional science fairs from all across the state of PA.
Date of competition: May 2, 2024
Application deadline: April 20, 2024
Competition info: See the HU BioGENEius website
To apply to your PA BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For information contact:
Prof. M.V. Pattarkine
Harrisburg University of Science & Technology
e: lpattarkine@harrisburgu.edu
p: (717) 901-5168
The Virginia BioGENEius Challenge, co-hosted by the Virginia Bioscience Foundation is a competition for high school students doing research in biotechnology, agriculture and/or industrial and environmental science. More than 300 Virginia high school students participate in the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair (VSSEF), presenting more than 200 projects. More than 70 subject matter experts from higher education and businesses across Virginia volunteer their time as judges.
Date of competition: April 12-13, 2024 (VSSEF)
Application deadline: TBA
Competition info: http://vssef.org/
To apply to your VA BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For information contact:
Caron Trumbo
Virginia Biotechnology Association (VABio)
e: trumbo.caron@vabio.org
p: (804) 643-6360
At-Large Applicants
The At-Large BioGENEius Challenge is conducted by the Biotechnology Institute of Washington, DC. It is open to all high school students doing research in biotechnology, agriculture and/or industrial and environmental science from states outside of our State Partner network. We highly recommend that you have placed in the upper 5% of participants in your 2024 local, regional or even better, state science fair to be as competitive as possible in the At-Large BioGENEius Challenge as only very a few advance.
Application Deadline: May 13, 2024
Judging (internal): May 15-16, 2024
Finalist(s) Announcement: May 17, 2024
Competition info: https://biotechinstitute.org/ApplicaitonPortal
To apply to the At-Large BioGENEius Challenge, you first need to register here with us to complete the application process.
For information contact:
Quinta Jackson
Biotechnology Institute
e: info@biotechinstitute.org
p: (202) 312-9269