Jaelyn Hammersley Earns Global Prize at International Science Fair

OPRF junior Jaelyn Hammersley has earned a fourth-place award at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest and most prestigious international high school science and engineering competition. This marks the highest finish ever earned by an OPRF student at the international competition. The school has previously had two other students qualify for ISEF.

The event, held in Phoenix last week, brought together more than 1,700 top young scientists representing over 67 countries, regions, and territories. Students qualified through highly competitive regional, state, and national science fairs, with only a small number advancing to the international level. Jaelyn competed against approximately 70 other finalists in the Biomedical and Health Sciences category, one of the largest and most competitive divisions at the event. 

Jaelyn conducted her research as part of the Competitive Research, Design, and Innovation course at OPRF. Her project explored using a natural compound called gedunin, found in the neem tree, as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease. She studied how gedunin affected climbing performance, lifespan, and neurodegeneration in fruit flies with Parkinson’s disease and found that treated flies showed significantly improved movement. These findings provide preliminary evidence that gedunin could be developed into a disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s.

Jaelyn said that despite how accomplished her fellow competitors were, the key to success proved to be more than just scientific innovation. “The most important thing I learned through science competitions is that communication matters just as much as the research itself,” Jaelyn said. “You can have an incredible project; however, if you can’t explain it clearly to people, it’s incredibly hard to make an impact.”

Jaelyn’s research teacher, Allison Hennings, highlighted other qualities that helped Jaelyn: “Jaelyn really directed her own learning. She came up with the experiment on her own, helped secure funding from the Boosters for a fluorescent microscope, connected with expert mentors around the world, and pushed herself every single day to ask new questions and learn more.”

Jaelyn’s research was born from a deeply personal place, she said. “Seeing neurodegeneration affect people I love made me want to pursue research that could someday help others.” Her advice to future young scientists? “You really need to have a strong ‘why.’ Remembering who my research could help is what kept me motivated throughout the entire process. Knowing that this work is so much bigger than me, and having world-renowned scientists recognize the importance of my research, made all of the hard work feel worth it.”

More information about Jaelyn’s project can be found on her Virtual Research Board.

More information about Regeneron ISEF can be found here: ISEF HOME.