Evan Morris

Evan Morris is an internationally recognized innovator and speaker passionate about the brain. A student at the University of Minnesota studying neuroscience and finance, he has conducted neuromodulation research at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Veterinary Medical Center, Veterinary Sciences Center, and University at large over the past three years.

His work uses cutting-edge techniques like opto- and sonogenetics to fine-tune brain therapies at scale in tiny worms he genetically engineers to model disease. He founded Averic in 2026, a neurotechnology venture working to democratize access to neuromodulation.

His research made him the first and only finalist in Regeneron ISEF history to receive two Top Awards in the same year: the Mary Sue Coleman Award for Life Science Innovation & Impact and the Dudley R. Herschbach SIYSS Award, which will take him to Stockholm during Nobel Week. That year, he also earned first place in Cellular and Molecular Biology after placing second in 2025. He is a co-founder of Dromos Partners LLC, a private research consultancy that mentors a small number of exceptional students; its team holds numerous ISEF Top Awards and Grand Awards.

He is a National STEM Champion, Yale Young Global Scholar, and Y Combinator Startup School invitee, a member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, and the Minnesota Junior Academy of Science, and a state and regional science fair judge and special award sponsor. His nationally recognized journalism on climate and society has been published nationally by organizations such as Best of SNO, and his work has been featured by media outlets, amassing hundreds of thousands of views.

Evan holds a first-degree black belt in Taekwondo and has played competitive soccer since age 9, earning national recognition from id2. His high school team became the second in state history to win three consecutive state championships. As student body vice president, he passed dozens of proposals, led his Science Olympiad lab team to first place among small schools in the state, and rewilded his school with its first pollinator garden as Plant Club president.

Outside the lab, Evan cares for a GFP melanoid axolotl named Tenen and has created four custom Anthurium hybrids in a greenhouse he built at age 13. He loves traveling the world, immersing himself in unfamiliar environments, listening to audiobooks and lectures, and going on long runs.