Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026

Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles – Rosemead

Address: 888 Montebello Blvd., Rosemead, CA 91770, USA

Host: International Student Research and Innovation Foundation (ISRIF)

ELIGIBILITY

• Open to high school students (or equivalent to secondary school level).
• Projects may be submitted individually or by teams of up to three students.
• Work must be primarily student driven. Reasonable guidance from teachers or mentors is acceptable and should be acknowledged in the project materials.
• Projects may originate from school programs, independent work, or another research initiative, provided the student(s) can clearly articulate their own contributions. 

COMPETITION FORMAT

Poster Presentation — Primary Judging Round

Each project will be presented as a printed scientific poster displayed on-site. Students must be available for one-on-one or small-panel interviews with the judges, typically lasting 5–10 minutes per visit. Each poster will be evaluated independently by three judges, and the judges’ scores will be averaged to determine the preliminary ranking.

Judges’ Caucus and Final Ranking

The highest-scoring posters will advance to the judges’ caucus for further review and discussion. During the caucus, the judges will compare the top projects and determine the final rankings.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Submission deadline: extended to September 13,2026

All materials must be submitted by the announced deadline. Incomplete submissions may not be accepted for judging.

ETHICS STATEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Students must answer every question and obtain the required signatures before submission.

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Keynote Speaker

        Dr. Song Li is a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Associate Dean of the Samueli School of Engineering at UCLA. He chaired the Department of Bioengineering from 2016 to 2024 and directed the Bioengineering Institute for California from 2022 to 2025. Dr. Li’s work reveals how mechanical forces and engineered biomaterials regulate stem cell fate, epigenetic plasticity, and immune responses, translating mechanobiology into regenerative medicine, immunoengineering, and disease therapy. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and filed 23 patents. His achievements have been recognized by many awards and honors, including the Global Biomaterials Leadership Award from the Chinese Association of Biomaterials, and election as a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the International Academy for Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE). Dr. Li is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Med-X Journal.

Abstract

Multidisciplinary Evolution and Integration: From Biomechanics to Mechanomedicine

        Over the past six decades, biomechanics has evolved from the study of mechanical principles governing biological systems to a multidisciplinary field that reveals how physical forces regulate cellular behavior and drive health and disease. This presentation traces this remarkable journey—from classical biomechanics to mechanobiology and the emerging era of mechanomedicine. Pioneering studies by Dr. Shu Chien established how hemodynamic shear stress governs endothelial mechanotransduction, providing a molecular basis for vascular homeostasis and atherosclerosis and transforming our understanding of cardiovascular disease. Building on these foundations, recent advances illustrate how mechanobiological principles can be harnessed therapeutically, exemplified by engineering the mechanical properties of artificial cells for immunotherapy of cancer. Together, these examples highlight the convergence of engineering, biology, and medicine, and illustrate a future in which mechanical cues become programmable therapeutic targets and design principles for next-generation diagnostics, regenerative medicine, immunotherapy, and precision mechanomedicine.