Advanced Research Class of 2025

It’s an absolute delight to introduce the outstanding members of the Advanced Research Class of 2025 at Geffen Academy at UCLA. Each of the presentations you will hear represents the culmination of a rigorous two-year journey in academic research across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Whether conducted in a laboratory, through careful analysis of existing data sets, or via original interpretations of historical texts and cultures, this work is grounded in a shared intellectual framework: identifying what is known, what remains unknown, and designing a thoughtful approach to bridging the knowledge gap.

Throughout this program, students develop research questions of their own and pursue answers under the mentorship of researchers in the broader academic community. Engaging in authentic, original research while still in high school is a challenging and extraordinarily valuable experience. Regardless of discipline, our students emerge as independent scholars with strong analytical, writing, and research skills that will serve them well in college and beyond, no matter the paths they choose to follow.

This program would not be possible without the generosity and expertise of our mentors, who devote their time and insight to supporting the next generation of scholars. We are deeply grateful for their partnership and commitment to our students.

I hope you enjoy learning about the students’ work as much as we have enjoyed supporting them through this process.

Thank you.

Dr. Elizabeth Ashforth
Director of Student Research Programs
Department Chair, I-Track