Georgia Bio Names Milton High School Senior as Georgia BioGENEius Winner

Shreya Ramesh Advances in International Competition Against Top Students 

Atlanta, GA (April 6, 2020)  – Georgia Bio and the Georgia BioEd Institute today named  Shreya Ramesh , a senior at Milton High School in Milton, GA, as the winner of the 2020 Georgia BioGENEius Challenge, the premier competition for high school students that recognizes outstanding research and innovation in the biotechnology field.  As Georgia’s BioGENEius finalist, Shreya will attend the 2020 International BioGENEius competition, which will be held virtually during the BIO Digital Convention.

Shreya will compete against high school students from the U.S., Canada and Germany in the International BioGENEius Challenge. The student projects will represent a range of biotechnology topics such as healthcare, agriculture, and the environment.

Shreya Ramesh headshot
Shreya Ramesh, 2020 Georgia BioGENEius Challenge Winer

Shreya’s award-winning research uses machine learning to assess the voice features of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients. The voices of ALS patients are characteristically slower, higher pitched, and softer than the voices of individuals who do not have ALS. Using ALS voice feature data, Shreya created a voice compensation algorithm to convert the ALS patient’s voice into one more similar to a non-ALS patient. This allowed the ALS patient’s voice to be better recognized by Automatic Speech Recognition (ARS) programs like Google Voice or Amazon’s Alexa. ALS patients often rely on ARS programs due to their limited mobility, but their voice features are not recognized by these programs.

“The BioGENEius Challenge highlights the breakthroughs made when we invest in and encourage young people to pursue their ideas,” said Georgia Bio President and CEO Maria Thacker. “Georgia Bio is thrilled that Shreya will represent our state at the upcoming BIO Convention. We are proud to support this Georgia scholar as she develops tomorrow’s healthcare innovations.”

Georgia Bio also congratulates the Georgia BioGENEius runner-up,  Krish Wadhwani  of Denmark High School in Alpharetta, GA. Krish’s project focused on the production of synthetic antibody mimics (SyAMs) as treatment for Huntington’s disease (HD) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The SyAMs are engineered antibodies that can bind to the misshapen proteins responsible for causing symptoms in HD and AD. This would inhibit the proteins and help control symptoms of the disease. Krish plans to continue this research and next hopes to get funding to pursue clinical production and testing of the antibodies. 

Krish Wadhwani headshot
Krish Wadhwani, 2020 Georgia BioGENEius Challenge Runner-Up

Judging the 2020 Georgia BioGENEius were Jamie L. Graham, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton; Ralph L. Cordell, CDC; and Ian Biggs, UGA.

National and International winners will be announced after the competition. See the  International BioGENEius website  for more information on the revised 2020 schedule. Winners will receive cash scholarships.

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

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.

About the GeorgiaBioEd Institute 
The Georgia BioEd Institute is a division of Georgia Bio, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the state’s life science industry. The Institute’s mission is to strengthen Georgia’s life sciences workforce pipeline through classroom-to-career initiatives that align with industry needs. Learn more at  www.georgiabioed.org  |  www.gabio.org.

MEDIA CONTACT : 

Maria Thacker
404-920-2042
mthacker@gabio.org

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Georgia Life Sciences Launches New Podcast Series, Vitals, in Partnership with Cloudcast Media

October 6, 2025
Atlanta, GA — October 6 — Georgia Life Sciences today announced the launch of Vitals, a new podcast series developed in partnership with Cloudcast Media, a leader in branded podcast production. The series will spotlight the people, ideas, and innovations shaping the future of Georgia’s rapidly growing life sciences sector. Hosted by Georgia Life Sciences’ CEO, Maria Thacker Goethe, Vitals will feature in-depth conversations with scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, policymakers, and patient advocates. Each episode will explore the challenges and opportunities facing Georgia’s life sciences ecosystem—spanning biopharma, medical technology, digital health, and advanced manufacturing. “Vitals gives us a powerful platform to showcase the remarkable work happening within our state,” said Maria Thacker Goethe. “By sharing these stories, we’re highlighting not only groundbreaking science but also the collaboration and talent that make Georgia such a vibrant hub for health innovation.” Cloudcast Media, known for its expertise in storytelling and high-quality podcast production, will bring industry insights and technical support to ensure the series reaches audiences across Georgia and beyond. “We’re proud to partner with Georgia Life Sciences on Vitals,” said Charles Parisi, Founder and CEO of Cloudcast. “This series will elevate the voices of innovators who are advancing science, improving patient outcomes, and building Georgia’s reputation as a global life sciences leader. We are very excited that Cloudcast Atlanta can play a role in supporting Maria and the impactful work of Georgia Life Sciences.” The first episode of Vitals launched today and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other major streaming platforms, as well as through the Georgia Life Sciences website.

BIO Statement on Most Favored Nation Policies

October 1, 2025
September 30, 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C. – John F. Crowley, President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) released the following statement on Most Favored Nation policies: "For too many years, Americans have subsidized the research and development necessary to bring newer and better medicines to patients around the world. As we saw with defense spending and NATO, the solution is not to weaken a strategically important American industry, but for other countries to pay their fair share. “Today’s announcement in the Oval Office highlights the problems with a drug delivery system where half of the cost of innovative medicines goes to middlemen and distributors, and where the supply chain distorts prices paid by the American people. We support a new framework that addresses the cost of medicines by simplifying the system - and making medicines directly available to patients. “But importing socialist price controls through most-favored nation policies fundamentally does not address the imbalance in international pricing for innovative medicines. MFN will not lower the out-of-pocket prices that most Americans pay for medicines. Even worse, it will jeopardize the entrepreneurial spirit and deter the capital necessary for a vibrant and essential American biotechnology industry to thrive and may cause most harm to small and midsize biotech companies, which are responsible for discovering more than half of all new treatments. “Without these biotech innovators and a free-market system, we risk slower scientific progress, decreased access to new medicines, compromised national security, fewer American jobs and perhaps most tragically, a diminished hope for those suffering with illness and disease. There are much better ways to address this problem than MFN.” ###
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