Announcing the Nominees for the 2024 Pioneer Research Journal
Pioneer Academics is proud to announce that 101 papers authored by scholars from the 2024
Pioneer Academics is proud to announce that 101 papers authored by scholars from the 2024 academic year have been nominated for publication in The Pioneer Research Journal, an annual publication showcasing the most outstanding undergraduate-level research and writing generated by the high school students from around the world who participated in this year’s institute.
These scholars come from 78 high schools representing 14 countries and regions. The nominated research papers present innovative analysis and new knowledge in a wide range of academic fields spanning STEM, social sciences, humanities, and pre-professional disciplines.
Pioneer Academics’ research institute is the world’s only fully-accredited online research institute for high school students. These nominated research papers are superlative examples of work conducted in the Pioneer Research Institute in which motivated and exceptional high school students from around the world pursue original research under the mentorship of world class professors in Pioneer’s academic system. The scholars enrolled in the institute meet online with small international cohorts in seminar-style sessions in their research concentration before moving on to work individually with the professor to generate an undergraduate-level research paper on an original topic they are required to develop.
All of the research papers completed by Pioneer scholars undergo rigorous academic oversight, each one representing a significant achievement in original exploration and discovery and held to the highest academic standards. The 101 papers nominated for the 2024 edition of The Pioneer Journal, which marks the 11th volume, comprise the top 5.8% of the papers produced during Pioneer’s 2024 academic year. The nominated papers will next be evaluated in a comprehensive review process which includes a double-blind review conducted by a panel of more than 40 university faculty from leading institutions in the United States.
The Pioneer Research Journal does not function as, nor is it promoted as, a vehicle to enhance college applications. Rather, it is meant to offer audiences interested in the potential of high-school-student scholarship exemplars of outstanding erudition. For that reason, the journal’s selection process prioritizes the equitable double-blind evaluation of all papers under consideration with no regard for the college application cycle.
We look forward to announcing the papers selected for publication shortly after the start of the new year. In the meantime, we congratulate the authors of all the nominated papers, each of whom exemplifies the academic rigor embodied by the Pioneer system. For a complete list of nominated papers and authors, please see the chart below.
Scholar Name | Scholar School | Scholar Country/Region (by school) | Pioneer Research Area | Pioneer Paper Topic |
Ahuja, Arnav | Archbishop Mitty High School | United States | Biology | Effects of short sequence nucleotide feature extraction on the RNA-binding protein site prediction using in-vivo RNA secondary structures |
Zhu, Ziqing | Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy | China | Biology | Directed Upper Motor Neurons Differentiation by Upregulation of the CB1 Signaling Pathway in an ALS Disease Model |
Zhu, Libei | BASIS International School of Hangzhou | China | Psychology | Impaired oligodendrocyte morphology regulated by schizorphenia risk factors MAG gene leads to mental disorder-like behavior in mice |
Zhu, Alex Xuanrui | Concord Academy | United States | Gender Studies | Observing Women in The Aeneid via Foucauldian Lens: A Feminist Reading of Virgil's Magnum Opus |
Zholmukhan, Aitore | National School Of Physics And Mathematics | Kazakhstan | Chemistry | Proposal for the Total Synthesis of (±)-Lingzhilactone B via Semipinacol Rearrangement |
Aidarkhan, Amirkhan Alimkhan | Nazarbayev Intellectual School Of Physics And Mathematics Taraz | Kazakhstan | Computer Science | A Novel Genetic Approach to Solving the Graph Bandwidth Problem Using Wave Function Collapse Techniques |
Akkus, Yigithan | Koc Ozel Lisesi | Turkey | Physics/astronomy | Testing Bekenstein-Hawking Entropy with Gravitational Wave Data Under Microcanonical Ensemble |
Andria, Denis | Istanbul International Community School | Turkey | Economics | What drives individuals to purchase goods at unreasonably high prices in the second-hand exchange market of anime peripheral products |
Zhang, Ruixin (Rui) | Tsinglan School | China | Education | The Effects of Gamification in Flipped Learning on Student Achievement and Motivation in a Secondary Mathematics Classroom |
Antonio, Ingrid | Bard High School Early College II | United States | Philosophy | The Right to Conceive Through the Use of Sperm Donation as a Single Woman |
Zhang, Kan (Kevin) | BASIS International School - Park Lane Harbour | China | Philosophy | The Unfree Life Is Worth Living |
Zhang, Haoyun (Richelle) | Shanghai Pinghe School | China | Neuroscience | Cocktail gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases: overexpression of ubiquitin-proteosome system (UPS) components and knock-down of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) |
Zhang, Hanxi (Tristan) | Montverde Academy Shanghai | China | Computer Science | Vision Transformers for Detecting Al-generated Images |
Arun, Snigdha | Northwood High School | United States | Neuroscience | From structure to function: Neuronal spine morphologies in the context of Neurological Diseases |
Chen, Emily | German Swiss International School | Hong Kong S.A.R. | Neuroscience/Biology | The Roles and Mechanisms of Burst Firing Neurons in the Lateral Habenula Circuit in Depression, and Implications of Targeted Inhibition by Antidepressants as Potential Treatment |
Chen, Erica | Mulgrave School | Canada | International Relations | Title: Digitalization's Role in Enhancing Social Efficiency in Microfinance |
Xu, Xinyue (Yiyi) | Shanghai United International School Gubei Secondary | China | Sociology | Thesis: How do laws and legal proceedings address the intersection of freedom of speech and technology-facilitated gender-based violence? |
Chen, Yifei | Guangdong Country Garden School | China | Mathematics | Statistical mechanics derivation of the asymptotic formula for integer partitions |
Cui, Zijian (Jay) | Shanghai Pinghe School | China | Architecture | Curating the “International Style”: Philip Johnson’s Influential Role in Shaping 20th-Century Architecture |
Xu, Jingqi (George) | International School of Beijing, Shunyi | China | Physics | Parameter Variation on the Dynamics of a Relativistic Damped Duffing-like Driven System |
Xiong, David Zhou | Buckingham Browne and Nichols School | United States | History/STS | Science, Slavery, and Society: Maria Sybilla Merian and Hans Sloane in the Colonial Americas |
Desai, Ila Gayatri | Brearley School | United States | Political Science | Ayslum Policy in the United States: Fixing a Broken System |
Fan, Abigail L (Abby) | Diamond Bar High School | United States | Business | Applying Adaptive Homeostasis through Learning from Cautionary Examples and Application to Build a Model for Cash Flow Management in Startup High Growth Companies |
Fan, Yuanxi (Anna) | Beijing City International School | China | Neuroscience | Experimental protocol investigating the role of exercise in advanced ALS rehabilitation |
Feng, Lucas | Millard North High School | United States | Music | The Art of Surprise: A Musical Analysis of Select Scores by John Powell from the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy |
Gao, Yisi (Theresa) | BASIS International School - Park Lane Harbour | China | Chemistry | The Influence of Tourism on Nutrient Pollution: A Case Study of Park Lane Harbor, Huizhou |
Wang, Guanxi | The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University | China | Environmental Studies | “Assessing Corporate Water Stewardship Strategies of Certified B Corps in China Toward Environmental Sustainability based on B Impact Assessment Scores” |
Gutti, Mihira | Irvington High School | United States | Chemistry/Biology | Design and Evaluation of GDP366 Analogs for Survivin Inhibition |
Tang, Rosalyn Yuen Yim | The Independent Schools Foundation Academy | Hong Kong S.A.R. | Chemistry/Biology | An investigation into the pharmacological mechanisms of the tradiational Chinese medicine Qinigxin capsule in treating hypertension based on network pharmacology and molecular docking |
Harikrishnan, Vedika | GEMS Wellington School Qatar | Qatar | Psychology | Impact of strengthens based intervention on well being and academic performance. |
Jiang, Carolanne Tiana | Walnut Hill School | United States | Philosophy | Mastering the Meaning of Logic: A Meta-Ethical Analysis of Philosophical Pitfalls |
Jiang, Ivy | Spence School | United States | Biology | Uterine Neoplasms: Gene Expression Insights into Gynecological Malignancies |
Jiang, Yixin (Sophie) | Richmond Secondary School | Canada | Computer Science | Leveraging Emotion Detection to Enhance User Understanding on Social Media |
Jiang, Yuning | Guangzhou Foreign Language School | China | Computer Science | Material classification system using inductive tactile sensors and machine learning algorithms |
Sun, Ruihan (Andrew) | High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China | China | Sociology | Threat narrative regarding immigrants in Caravans: Partisan differences in YouTube comments |
Sun, Qiyao (James) | Beijing Huijia Private School | China | Economics | The Impact of Loan Prime Rate Reforms on China's Financial System |
Song, Yuri Samantha | Northwood High School | United States | Architecture | Memory in Massacre: Remembrance through Nanjing and Holocaust Memorials |
Jiang, Zaixin (Kitty) | United Nations International School | United States | Neuroscience | Myosin 1c and PIP2 interact to regulate slow adaptation in mammalian inner hair cells. |
John, Jasmine Ruth | Garland High School | United States | Business/Psychology | Relative Persuasiveness of Gain-Framed Beneficiary Framing Messages on Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Employee Discretionary Work Effort |
Ryu, Hyunjun | The Gunnery | United States | Sociology | Youth Advocacy in the Digital Age: Comparative Motivations and Impact of Digital and |
Kosimjonova, Khadicha | Baldwin High School | United States | Biology | cXist Gene’s Influence in Modulating to Explain Sex Bias of Autoimmune Disorders |
Kuscer, Devi | UWC Atlantic | United Kingdom | Physics | Constraining Dark Matter Density in the Galactic Center Using the Peribothron Shift in the Orbit of S2 |
Qi, Yinuo | The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University | China | Anthropology | A Gendered Crisis: Social Constructs of Masculinities on Men’s Attitudes Towards Public Health Recommendations in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic |
Lin, Guanming | Guangzhou Foreign Language School | China | Computer Science | Using Machine Learning to Detect Toxic Text Online: A Punctuation and Case Aided Approach |
Perlman, Maelis Lishan | Brentwood School | United States | Sociology & Environmental Studies | An Overview of Forms of Exposure to and Effects of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances on Humans and Select Non-Human Species |
Lin, Jeffrey | The Hotchkiss School | United States | Anthropology / History | Persistent and Unwavering in the Face of Adversity Zhiqing’s Self and Collective Enrichment during the Down to the Countryside Movement |
Patil, Ranveer Shekhar | Dhirubhai Ambani International School | India | Biology | Inhibiting Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and ABC Transporters: A Promising Approach to treat Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer |
Pan, Yi Rong (Anita) | York House School | Canada | Literature | Modernity and its Discontents: Failed Rebellion in Naomi |
Pan, Xingyue (Georgia) | Suzhou Foreign Language School | China | Anthropology | Gender Perceptions Differentiation Across Educational Levels and Age Groups in China |
Nas, Yigit Efe | Diyarbakir Bahcesehir College Science and Technology High School | Turkey | Political Science/International Relations | FROM FISHING VILLAGE TO GLOBAL CITY: TO WHAT EXTENT WAS SHENZHEN’S HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PLANNED DURING ITS TRANSFORMATION INTO A GLOBAL CITY? |
Lu, Xingyuan Michael (Michael) | BASIS International School of Hangzhou | China | Physics | GEP Water Quality Sensor |
Martinez Sandoval, Diego Ussiel | Knight High School | United States | International Relations | Atrocities Committed in Ethiopia under Fascist Italy during the Interwar Period: A League of Nations’ Failure to Enforce Accountability |
Mehta, Shaan | Dougherty Valley High School | United States | Biology | Investigating the effects of induced synthetic lethality through PARP-Inhibitors and ionizing radiation combination therapy in BRCA1/2 mutated breast cancer patients |
Ma, Xinran (Cindy) | Spence School | United States | Computer Science/Biology | Identification of Biomarkers and Biological Pathways in Diagnosing Rheumatoid Arthritis through Machine Learning |
Moon, Shinyeong (Erica) | Jakarta Intercultural School | Indonesia | Economics | Waste Colonialism in the 21st Century: Import and Export Trends in the Global Waste Trade |
Lin, Zixian (Lin) | Yinchuan No 1 High School Ningxia | China | Sociology | Why are They a Minority?: An Analysis of the Commonalities and Preferences of Female Players in Action Competitive Games |
Lin, Zhiheng (Harry) | Shenzhen College of International Education | China | Economics | The Impact of Monetary Policy Shocks in Major Economies on the Trade Flow in Emerging Economies |
Zhang, Luoxuan (Luna) | The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University | China | Gender Studies | Stigma, Agency, and “Whorearchy:” a Post-feminism Neoliberal Discourse Analysis of Sex Work in the Era of OnlyFans |
Pattanaik, Zoha | The Buckley School | United States | Gender Studies | Bridging Legacies: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Frameworks for Addressing Gender-Based Violence in India and the United States |
Pospesel, Gabriel Luc | International School of Zug and Luzern | Switzerland | Sociology | Partisan Bias in New Coverage of Political Polarization: Assessing Meta-Perceptions and Affective Polarization |
Li, Haorun (Rain) | Horace Mann School | United States | Computer Science/ Biology | GEM-CDR: Cancer-Drug Response Prediction Using Graph Neural Networks and Molecular Attention |
Lee, Yeeun (Amy) | Green Level Highschool | United States | Biology | Using the CRISPR-Cas System for Precision Antimicrobial Treatment (AMR) |
Risteska Daskalovski, Teodora (Tedi) | Nova International Schools | North Macedonia | Anthropology | Gender in the 2024 Macedonian Presidential Elections: An Analysis of Online Voter Engagement with Female vs Male Candidates |
Rubin, Alexandra Blake (Alex) | Blind Brook High School | United States | Sociology | The Evolution of American Gender Roles and its Impact on Consumption Patterns |
Kim, Hayoung (Jhin) | Seoul Scholars International | South Korea | Neuroscience | Professional Gaming is not a Disorder: A Comparison of Occupations and Addiction Disorders |
Josyula, Rhea R | Henry M Gunn High School | United States | Neuroscience | The Use of Music Therapy to Slow the Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease |
Shang, Xiaomu (Maple) | Suzhou International Academy | China | Architecture | Adaptation of Historic Structures within Tropical Seismic Zones: A Case Study in Calle Real |
Jin, Eric Sheng-Yan | Shanghai American School - Pudong Campus | China | Engineering | Brain Computer Interfaces: Challenges, Developments, |
Shim, Amanda Charlie (Andie) | Phillips Academy | United States | History | Better Late Than Never: The Effect of South Korea’s Late Industrialization on its Modern Sustainability Practices |
Sung, Esther | Mount Hebron High School | United States | Biology | Proposal of Replication-Competent Lentiviral Vectors as HIV Treatment |
Surve, Ishaan Shailesh | Dhirubhai Ambani International School | India | Biology | Evaluating and Addressing the Impact of Particulate Matter and Artificial Light At Night Stressors On Plant Physiology And The Urban Ecosystem |
Syed, Abiya | Indus International School - Pune | India | Biology | Insights from the evaluation of genetic links between endometriosis and autoimmune conditions |
Tam, Justin | Staten Island Technical High School | United States | Economics/Environmental Studies | Nitrogen Pollution in the Mesoamerican Reef: Sources, Impacts, and Mitigation Strategies |
Hei, Mingyi | Beijing No. 101 High School | China | Music | The Medical Power of Music: Music and Alzheimer’s Disease |
Tang, Caitlyn Hoi Ning | UWC Atlantic | United Kingdom | Film Studies | Beyond the Picket Fence: Expectations of Motherhood in Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) |
Hao, Yeqing (Prince) | Mccallie School | United States | Sociology | A New Era of E-commerce: An Analysis of the Emergence of Live Sale in China Post-Covid |
Tuo, Zehao | Haidian foreign language academy | China | Mathematics | Comparing Different Rating Systems in Professional Snooker Matches |
Gong, Haoning (Kevin) | George School | United States | Biology | Impact of Forestry Practices in South China on the Stopover and Conservation of Migratory Forest Dependent Birds |
Wang, Xiaoyu (Sally) | Beijing International Bilingual Academy | China | Literature | Alternate Historical Fiction and the Reflection on Women’s Traumatic Cycle in Political Exchanges under Societal Expectations |
Wang, Yihan (Vicky) | No 2 High School of East China Normal University | China | Anthropology/Environmental Studies | Local response to cyanobacteria blooms in Taihu Lake |
Wei, Renyi (Roy) | YK Pao School | China | International Relations | Power’s Eyes: Revitalization of Panopticism in Cyber-surveillance |
Whang, Sunwoo | Island School | Hong Kong S.A.R. | Physics | Investigating the relationship between the shape and efficiency of heat transfer in CPU heatsinks |
Wu, Alice | Deerfield Academy | United States | Music | Beauty as Performance: How Image Defines Success in China’s Pop Industry |
Xu, Mulong | Nanjing Foreign Language School | China | Mathematics | Tiling of a Chessboard |
Xu, Raymond Ruiping | Oakton High School | United States | Environmental Studies | Harnessing the Wind: An Analysis of the Feasibility of Offshore |
Chen, Rachel Ruoxuan | Marlborough School | United States | Mathematics | On Hackenbush Games and Surreal Numbers |
Xu, Yuechen (Jenny) | Shanghai Soong Ching Ling School | China | Psychology | Source Localization and Experiences of VR-induced Depersonalization and Derealization: An Interoceptive Predictice Coding Model |
Yang, JinRan (Jane) | YK Pao School | China | Music | Yue Opera of the New Generation: Through Modern Aesthetics |
Cai, Haolin | Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University | China | Physics | The Effect of Negative Electrode Particle Size on Capacity Fade in Lithium-Ion Batteries |
Cai, Haofan (Daniel) | Saint Margaret's Episcopal School | United States | Business | Electric Vehicle Adoption in the European Market: Attitudinal Factors Impacting Adoptions |
Yu, Zixiao | Beijing Number 80 High School | China | Biology | Melody of Survival: Tree Hydraulics and Resilience for Drought-Induced Cavitation |
Zhang, Mijia (Mirandy) | Beijing National Day School | China | Film Studies | Bond Girls Or Yimou Girls?: Differences Between Zhang Yimou’s Wu Xia and the James Bond Franchise’s Development of Female Characters in the Early 2000s |
Zhang, Xiyuan (Ashley) | Hangzhou Number 14 Middle School | China | Computer Science | Stock Market Forecasting: How Will Competing Relationship Indicate the Stock Price – A Case Study |
Zhang, Zhuxuan | Nanjing Foreign Language School | China | Music | Western musical elements in Kun Opera performances |
Zheng, Kaixin (Cassie) | Shanghai American School - Puxi Campus | China | History and Gender Studies | Colonial Legacies: The Impact of European Colonialism on National Identity in Latin American and Caribbean Pageants |
Zou, Jason | Dulwich College Beijing | China | Media Studies | The Impact of China's “Qinglang 2024” Campaign on Social Media Users' Attitudes and Perceptions of Wealth and Its Public Expression |
Deng, Addison | Phillips Academy | United States | Literature | A Levinasion Interpretation: The Other and the Self Within the Classical World |
Aday, Elkhan | Miras International School - Almaty | Kazakhstan | Mathematics | Double Hexagonal Strip tiling and Corresponding Identities |
Liu, Jingyi (Yolanda) | Shanghai Pinghe School | China | Literature | A Black Woman’s Flickering Voice: How do the periods of vacancy of Janie’s voice mark her gradual development of authoritative power as a black female in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God? |
Feng, Peihe | High School Affiliated to South China Normal University | China | Literature | Athlete, Artemis, and the "American Girl": A New Perspective on May Welland in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence |
Guo, Maximilian Yufei (Max) | Basis Independent Silicon Valley | United States | History and Literature | Lenin’s Unattainable Utopia: The Incompatibility of Bolshevism and Democracy |
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