The YSI Times Ed. 7: A Preview of STEM Quest 2.0
Part 2 of our beloved speaker series with MedXplorer begins this week!
STEM Quest 2.0 launches this Friday (June 13), and we’re providing a full preview of the program in this seventh edition of The YSI Times.
For those of you who’ve been a member of Youth STEM Initiative for a while, you probably remember STEM Quest—the scientific research speaker series we hosted back in November/December 2024. Well, we’ve partnered once again with MedXplorer to launch part 2 of this series 🙌🏼
But BIGGER, BETTER, AND BOLDER.
This time, our speaker lineup includes multiple brilliant YSI members who will be presenting topics you won't want to miss out on from the neuroscience of perception to machine learning, public health & prevention, bioprinting, and practical tips on coping with burnout from a medical student!
These bite-size sessions will be held virtually and feature an international audience who all share the same love and curiosity for STEM, research, and career-building tips that—literally—go a long way.
“Our focus this time was not just the ‘S’ in STEM, we are exploring fields within STEM that are thriving: the hot topics & the WOW factors.”
–Abeer, UAE Chapter Leader & Coordinator of STEM Quest 2.0
Here is a description of each of the sessions and the incredible speakers who will be leading them:
Introductory Session
Details:
👩🔬 Led by Abeer Iftikhar, YSI Researcher & UAE Chapter Leader | Coordinator of STEM Quest 2.0
🗓️ Friday, June 13, 2025
🕔 17:00 GMT
In this session, Abeer will introduce the second edition of STEM Quest, provide a rundown of the upcoming speaker sessions, and answer your lingering questions before the start of the program. Be there to learn all you need to know about STEM Quest 2.0!
Why Do Our Emotions Get The Best of Us?
A deep dive into the emotional brain
Details:
👨🔬 Led by Amirali Banani, Founder & Executive Director of YSI | Co-organizer of STEM Quest 2.0
🗓️ Saturday, June 14, 2025
🕔 17:00 GMT
In this session, Amirali will talk about the complexity of emotions and the ways our brain processes them, uncovering how our emotions often powerfully take over decision-making processes and behaviour while interfering with our brain’s higher-order executive functions. To understand the material in this session better, read this Neuro Post-it piece on the emotional brain:
Neuro Post-it 7: The Emotional Brain
Emotion, a deeply human instinct that’s an integral part of our existence, has its roots in the intricate neural networks of our brain.
Exploring Machine Learning
Learn the fundamentals and applications of ML
Details:
👨🔬 Led by
, YSI Researcher & Germany Chapter Leader🗓️ Sunday, June 15, 2025
🕔 13:00 GMT
In this STEM Quest 2.0 workshop on AI/ML by Mark you’ll learn about:
• the underlying concepts of machine learning and neural networks
• regression and classification tasks
• neural networks
• convolutional neural networks (CNNs)
• transformers and LLMs (optionally)
LinkedIn for STEM Students
Build your personal brand and network with the right audience
Details:
👩🔬 Led by Souad Menif, DDS, YSI Researcher from Tunisia
🗓️ Wednesday, June 18, 2025
🕔 17:00 GMT
In this STEM Quest 2.0 workshop on building your LinkedIn profile as a STEM student, Souad will be talking about how students and professionals—particularly in healthcare—can use LinkedIn to grow their personal brand, access new opportunities, and connect with the right audience. She’s also going to share valuable, actionable tips on optimizing your profile and creating content—even if you’re just getting started!
An incredibly worthwhile workshop that can help you develop a LinkedIn profile that attracts and gets you places you never would’ve imagined ✨
Public Health and Prevention
Exploring epidemiology, access to care, and challenges that exist globally
Details:
👨🔬 Led by Rosario De Feo, YSI Researcher from Italy
🗓️ Thursday, June 19, 2025
🕔 12:00 GMT
In this session, Rosario will explore the importance of prevention in healthcare systems around the world. Through real-world examples, the session will highlight how different countries implement preventive strategies—from health promotion and education campaigns to screening programs and policy measures aimed at reducing disease incidence. Special attention will be given to oncology, where prevention plays a crucial role—through early detection, lifestyle interventions, and vaccination programs like those for HPV—to reduce the burden of cancer worldwide. Join us for a global look at how prevention is shaping the future of public health in the fourth session of STEM Quest 2.0! 🌍
A Conversation on Conservation
The importance of conservation biology and ecology in our everyday lives
Details:
👩🔬 Led by Nuha Mohideen, UAE Youth Ambassador for Nature | Student at Monash University, Australia
🗓️ Friday, June 20, 2025
🕔 11:00 GMT
Conversation on Conservation is an introductory session that explores what ecology and conservation biology are, why they’re important, and how they relate to our everyday lives. We’ll delve into ecosystems, biodiversity, and real-world environmental challenges, while highlighting the vital role youth can play in driving meaningful change.
CTRL+P: Print Me A Brain! 3D Bioprinting and Beyond
Exploring an emerging innovation that can revolutionize biology and medicine
Details:
👩🔬 Led by Uzra Kulsum, Student at the University of Birmingham, Dubai
🗓️ Sunday, June 22, 2025
🕔 18:00 GMT
Ever wished you could just print a new heart like you print your homework? Well, that’s exactly what 3D bioprinting is aiming to do.
Using cutting-edge technology, these incredible printers layer living cells and biomaterials to create tissues and maybe, one day, entire organs! It’s science that’s turning what once seemed like pure sci-fi into reality. Get ready to explore the future of medicine, where hitting “CTRL” means so much more than just printing your notes!
In this session, we’ll break down the fascinating science behind 3D bioprinting: how specialized “bio-inks” made of living cells and supportive materials are precisely deposited layer by layer to build complex tissues. We’ll uncover its current life-changing applications: from printing skin grafts to cartilage and the big ethical questions it raises about creating life. Plus, we’ll look ahead to jaw-dropping possibilities: Could we someday fully print living organisms? And if that future comes to reality, what might our world look like? Dystopian, revolutionary, or somewhere in between?
She’s Missing from the Lab: The Underrepresentation of Women’s Data
Examining the existing injustices and promoting inclusivity in STEM
Details:
👩🔬 Led by Abeer Iftikhar, YSI Researcher & UAE Chapter Leader | Coordinator of STEM Quest 2.0
🗓️ Tuesday, June 24, 2025
🕔 11:00 GMT
This session dives into the data gap that leaves women underrepresented in healthcare research, whether that is in clinical trials or journal publications. We’ll unpack how this affects real-world outcomes, spotlight overlooked conditions, and explore how students, researchers, and future changemakers can contribute to creating a more inclusive, evidence-based future. It’s not about blame, it’s about building better science and equity within research for everyone.
How Do We Perceive Reality? The Inside Story of an Incomplete Answer
Exploring the neuroscience of perception and consciousness
Details:
👩🔬 Led by Lorelia Gribincea, YSI Researcher from Moldova
🗓️ Friday, June 27, 2025
🕔 12:00 GMT
There is a gap between how reality is and the very different ways in which the brain constructs it under distinct circumstances and contexts. Moreover, different brains will perceive reality in unique ways, each brain having its own story and truth.
How can words shape the way we remember a scene, and why in a famous experiment in which subjects had to estimate the speed at which cars were moving before an accident, using a single different word made the subjects remember a higher speed? Why do optical illusions work even when we know they are an illusion? What brain systems and mechanisms are behind the construction of our perception and why do some people have a visual imagination as accurate as a movie while others cannot see visual images in their minds at all? Why does watching another person feel an emotion activate the same brain regions that would activate if we felt that emotion ourselves? Why couldn’t neuroscientist Oliver Sacks distinguish people’s faces even though he had his entire visual system intact? Why do brains prefer conspiracy theories and what can we do to make our perception of reality as accurate as possible?
These questions, and all the nuances of how perception is constructed and shaped by one’s unique experiences and memory, emotions, language, how vivid one’s imagination is, and how the predisposition to biases or openness to multiple hypotheses or possibilities, and even openness to polymathism can shape our perception, will be addressed in this workshop.
From Burnout to Purpose: Med School Edition
Coping with burnout as a medical student, sharing practical strategies that worked from personal experience
Details:
👩🔬 Led by Lamia Mchirgui, YSI Researcher from Tunisia
🗓️ Saturday, June 28, 2025
🕔 15:00 GMT
In this session, Lamia will share three simple but powerful mindset shifts that helped her move from survival mode to a more intentional and balanced med school life. She’ll cover how to recognize burnout, prioritize what truly matters using a practical values-based tool, and create space daily for the non-medical parts of your identity.
It’s not generic advice.
This is based on real experience and systems that actually work.
Behind the Scenes on Shark Tank: What Actually Gets Your Startup Funded
Sharing advice on building your startup and attracting investors from day 1
Details:
👨🔬 Led by Muhammad Aadil Abbas, Founder & CEO of MedXplorer
🗓️ Sunday, June 29, 2025
🕔 17:00 GMT
In this workshop-style session, Muhammad Aadil will take you behind the glamor of Shark Tank Pakistan and share the real lessons no one tells you—not about the pitch, but about the preparation. He'll guide you through how he built his startup from scratch while still studying, the systems he used to stay consistent, and what actually makes investors listen.
This isn’t about overnight success—it’s about building while no one’s watching, learning from rejection, and growing smarter with every step.
A Global STEM Program Built on The Foundations of Diversity
Our speakers at STEM Quest 2.0, whether from Youth STEM Initiative or outside of the organization, come from a wide variety of backgrounds and institutions around the world from Italy to Australia.
This is what makes this international event so global and special—from the diversity of our speakers and attendees to the variety of STEM topics presented 🌍🙌🏼
We are proud to have over 100 people globally speak at or attend STEM Quest 2.0, each with a unique identity and background that contributes to the beautiful diversity of this program.
A few more sessions will be announced over the coming days! Stay tuned for them by following Youth STEM Initiative on Instagram and LinkedIn.
A massive thank you to Abeer Iftikhar, YSI Researcher & UAE Chapter Leader, and Muhammad Aadil Abbas, Founder & CEO of MedXplorer, for planning and hosting another STEM Quest, as well as to our Head of Research,
, and Dr. Abida Amreen, for helping organize part two of this series!June 13 to July 1, 2025
For those of you who applied, we look forward to seeing you at these amazing sessions!
Thank you for reading the seventh edition of The YSI Times! Subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn and here on Substack to stay updated with everything at Youth STEM Initiative <3
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