My name is Adree Khondker, and I am a Grade 12 IB student at Westdale S.S. in Hamilton, ON, Canada. Apart from high school, I am a researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University, specializing with membrane-drug interactions (Rheinstaedter Lab). With my research, I have earned medals from the Canada-Wide Science Fair, Yale University, the Society for Optics and Photonics, Developing Innovations and other organizations in the past. I have also published papers in the field of X-Ray crystallography and am currently working on a paper in the field of condensed-matter physics.

My research is concerned with the effects various drugs have on synthetic phospholipid bilayers for further insight and quantification of the biological effects caused by drugs, such as cortisone, ibuprofen, etc. By using X-Ray diffraction, we can in essence take 'snapshots' of lipids in their fluid state and their conformoties due to the natural crystalline structure. The results can translate to physiological systems and suggest reasons for the decay of membranes in cells.