2025 Capstone Project
Virtual Symposium
Below is the 2025 USC Capstone Project Webinar video alongside the presentations of several club members who have worked on capstone projects.
Samian Syed
GFAP & NfL Plasma Biomarkers’ Association With Obesity and Metabolic Health to Predict Alzheimer’s Disease in HABS-HD Study Participants
"I decided to pursue this project to advance my research involvement in neuroscience and help expand the field of knowledge regarding neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's Disease. I really found it interesting that having a higher BMI, being obese, correlates with a lower risk of Alzheimer's Disease because of lower GFAP and NfL levels."
Deleena Mehrotra
From Setback to Growth: How Reflective Writing Shapes Teen Responses to Academic Failure
"I pursued this project to explore how reflection and mindset affect motivation and persistence. I wanted to understand whether writing exercises could help teens cope with challenges, learn from mistakes, and develop resilience and problem-solving skills."
Srihith Chennareddy
M2ConAI: Multimodal Multilingual Conversational AI for Low-Cost Early Alzheimer’s Detection
"Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most pressing global health challenges, affecting over 50 million people worldwide. By analyzing linguistic features, natural language processing models can classify individuals into healthy controls, mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer's Disease, enabling earlier detection and intervention for at-risk populations."
Shriya Selvan
Hacking Memory—Neuroethics at the Frontiers of Optogenetics & Engram Engineering
"I have always been fascinated by the science of memory and have devoted extensive research, advocacy, and filmmaking efforts to Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, I became intrigued by engrams and how they steer memory research in directions I had not previously considered, focusing on the formation stage."
Bhavya Dwivedi
Rethinking Alzheimer’s: Evidence for a Vascular Pathogenesis
"Alzheimer's Disease is a very detailed topic that is still having ongoing research. I was interested in its findings and developments, so I wanted to do further research through a literature review."
Madhav Sathianarayanan
Shaping Neurosurgical Innovation: The Historical Development of Flexible Brain–Computer Interfaces and Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s Disease
"Parkinson's Disease is diagnosed to millions around the world. I found it personally interesting to take upon the path of tracing back the history of PD treatments."