Every year since 2008, the Friends of NIDA (National Institute for Drug Abuse) hosts the Addiction Science Fair, an international effort that represents a part of ISEF (Intel International Science and Engineering Fair), considered to be the biggest science competition for high schoolers. As part of the Addiction Science Far, approximately 1,800 students hailing from 75 world countries take part in developing projects related to drug addiction. To build a better understanding of this event, let’s take a look at specific portions of the competition and their importance to building awareness.
Addiction Science Fair Award
As its name suggests, the Addiction Science Fair plays hosts to experts and students from around the world to share high-quality research focusing on the issues of drug addiction, with a specific focus on substance use disorders (SUDs). The judges’ panel comprises experts from the scientific community, and Friends of NIDA provides varying cash awards to first, second, and third place winners.
The Fair’s host ISEF is larger than any other international high school science competition in the world and promotes the efforts of over 1,500 international high school students (grades 9-12). Participants are selected from winners of regional and state science competitions sponsored by local communities or schools and are sent to the Intel ISEF celebration. Sponsors of the competition include the Society for Science & the Public as well as academic-based and government-based groups.
Targeting Addiction at the Source
At its core, addiction is a very confusing and dangerous mental illness. However, the good news is that it is not only preventable but fully treatable. Through the efforts of scientists, as well as teenagers around the world, the fair seeks to solve the following issues:
- Who can potentially fall victim to addiction or abuse?
- The connection between our genes and addiction
- Brain functions
- Behavioral indicators (how we act could determine if we are addicts)
- Therapy, rehabilitation, and prevention programs
- Seeking high-quality treatment
Here are the hard-working winners of the 2018 Addiction Science Fair Award:
- 1st Place: “Undetected Suicide: Classification of Undetermined Drug-Related Deaths Using Machine Learning Techniques” by Mia Yu and Daphne Liu ($2,500 reward)
- 2nd Place: “LabTrak: A Micro-Telemetry Device for Modeling Mice Behavior” by Rohan Arora, Venkat Krishnan, and Anil Tolwani ($1,500 reward)
- 3rd Place: “Development of a Drug-Likeness Rule for Natural Products” by Saadh Ahmed ($1,000 reward)
Always remember that drugs do not have control over your life. You do. Are you suffering from a substance abuse disorder or addiction? Do you have a friend or family member suffering from one or more of these debilitating illnesses? If you do, get in touch with Asana Recovery today. Out counselors and healthcare experts are ready to walk you through every step of the detox and withdrawal process and rehabilitation and guide you towards living a happier, healthier, and freer lifestyle. While the road to recovery might not be an easy road to travel, we promise to help you every step of the way. Take the first step to stay fit, healthy, and safe.
The time for you to take back control of your life is now. If you are interested in one of our residential treatment or supervised detoxification/withdrawal programs, we are ready and waiting to speak with you at your disclosure. Call Asana now at (949) 438-4504 to learn how to overcome your drug addiction troubles today.
