California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) Names Winner of Bay Area BioGENEius Student Biotechnology Competition

Melanie Quan Advances to Philadelphia to Compete Against Top
Students from Across the Nation, Canada and Germany

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Amgen?src=hash" target="_blank"gt;#Amgenlt;/agt;–California
Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) today named Las Lomas High School 10^th
grader Melanie Quan of Alamo the winner of the 2019 Amgen Bay Area
BioGENEius Challenge, the premier competition for high school students
that recognizes outstanding research and innovation in the biotechnology
field. CLSI is the non-profit partner of the California
Life Sciences Association (CLSA), and supports the foundations of
innovation – workforce development, STEM education and entrepreneurship
– that have made California home to the world’s most prominent life
sciences ecosystem.

As the Bay Area BioGENEius finalist, Ms. Quan will attend the 2019
BIO International Convention in Philadelphia, the industry’s trade
conference, where she will engage with leading companies, scientists and
innovators currently transforming the scientific landscape to gain
invaluable insights into an industry making significant contributions to
the world. While in Philadelphia, Melanie will compete against students
from the U.S., Canada and Germany in the International BioGENEius
Challenge. The projects presented will represent a range of
biotechnology topics such as healthcare, agriculture and the environment.

Shruti Sridhar and Shreya Garg, both from Notre Dame High School in San
Jose, took home second and third place, respectively.

“CLSI’s Amgen Bay Area BioGENEius Challenge shines a light on some of
the Bay Area’s most remarkable high school student researchers. The
caliber of the student projects is so impressive and holds great promise
for the discoveries of tomorrow that will address our globe’s most
pressing challenges,” said Lori Lindburg, President & CEO, California
Life Sciences Institute (CLSI). “CLSI is so proud to have Melanie
represent us in Philadelphia at the 2019 BIO International Convention,
only one stop on what I’m sure will be a very successful career in
science.”

For the fourth year in a row, Amgen in South San Francisco hosted the
signature competition. In addition to the judging of student poster
presentations, CLSI’s Amgen Bay Area BioGENEius Challenge included a
keynote address by Ms. Seema Kantak, Executive Director, Biotherapeutics
at Exelixis, as well as a Career Panel, lunch with Amgen scientists, and
a poster viewing and reception with Amgen employees.

“Amgen is again pleased to partner with the California Life Sciences
Institute (CLSI) to support the Amgen Bay Area BioGENEius Challenge at
our South San Francisco site and to celebrate the Bay Area’s outstanding
student talent,” said Dr. Saptarsi Haldar, VP of Research, Amgen South
San Francisco. “We extend our congratulations to all of the student
finalists and look forward to following their continued success.”

The International BioGENEius Challenge is organized by the Biotechnology
Institute. “Our mission is to engage and excite student innovators by
creating an environment that allows them to showcase their talents and
help accelerate their development as the next generation of scientists.
The BioGENEius Challenges encourage students to apply their scientific
knowledge to solve some of society’s most pressing issues through
biotechnology, allowing them to see the tremendous potential they have
to make change in the world,” said Dr. Lawrence Mahan, President of
Biotechnology Institute. “We bring students, mentors and industry
leaders together to promote excellence in scientific research from the
best and brightest minds in the next generation of biotechnology
innovators.”

Winners will be announced during the Tuesday, June 4^th,
keynote at the 2019 BIO International Convention.

Follow the BioGENEius Challenge: Throughout the challenge,
@BiotechInstitute will be tweeting interviews, photos, and engaging with
the biotechnology community by using the hashtag #BioGENEius.

About California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI)

California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) supports the foundations of
innovation that have made California home to the world’s most prominent
life sciences ecosystem. With a focus on the San Francisco Bay Area,
CLSI’s mission is to maintain California’s leadership in life sciences
innovation through support of entrepreneurship, education and career
development. CLSI serves as the west coast accelerator for CARB-X, the
world’s largest public-private partnership devoted to combatting
antimicrobial resistance. CLSI is an affiliate of the California Life
Sciences Association (CLSA), which represents California’s leading life
sciences organization. The California Life Sciences Institute is a
nonprofit 501(c)(3), and was established in 1990 as the BayBio
Institute. Learn more at http://califesciencesinstitute.org.

About the Biotechnology Institute

The Biotechnology Institute is an independent, national nonprofit
organization dedicated to education about the present and future impact
of biotechnology. Its mission is to engage, excite and educate the
public, particularly students and teachers, about biotechnology and its
immense potential for solving human health, food and environmental
problems. For more information, visit www.biotechinstitute.org.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Will Zasadny
Director, Communications
[email protected]
619-961-8848
858-456-8885