How to Explain Lab Research to STS Judges Without Sounding Like the Postdoc

By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair

Explain your lab research to STS judges by telling them why each choice was made, what the lab had already done before you arrived, and what you would do next. Say it in your own plain words, for a reader outside the field, instead of repeating the lab’s vocabulary and the lab’s big-picture aim.

That is what sounding like the postdoc gets wrong. A postdoc explains the whole project. A student explains their piece of it, and why it went the way it did.

What judges are listening for

Regeneron STS permits research done alongside adult researchers at a research institution. Judges assess whether the work is substantially the student’s own.

In our view, they probe that by asking the student to explain why each choice was made and what they would do next, without a script. Judges reward a student who can explain the reasoning, not the most advanced technique.

So the goal is not to sound expert. It is to sound like the person who made the decisions.

Why “sounding like the postdoc” happens

The PI and postdocs are running their own science. A student spends months hearing the project described their way, in their shorthand.

It is natural to borrow that voice. The trouble is that the lab’s voice describes the lab’s project, and the judge wants to hear about the student’s.

A lab report or the lab’s manuscript is not an STS paper either. The student has to write their own paper, and talk about their own work, for a reader outside the field.

Start with what came before you

A judge needs to know where the lab stood when the student walked in. That is how they see where the lab’s work ends and the student’s begins.

In our view, the hard part is separating the student’s own question and contribution from the lab’s larger project, and saying it plainly. A short, honest account helps: what the lab was already studying, what was already known or built, and the one question the student took on.

Credit to the lab does not shrink the student’s part. It makes the student’s part easier to see and easier to believe.

Explain why each choice was made

This is the center of the conversation. For every step the student took, they should be able to say why.

Useful questions to practice:

• Why this question, and not the lab’s whole aim?
• Why this method, and what else could have worked?
• Why these controls?
• Why this sample size and this statistical test?

Controls and honest statistics are where most projects lose points. A student who can explain those two calmly is in a strong position.

If a choice was made by someone else in the lab, say so. “That protocol was already set up in the lab, and here is why I kept it” is a real answer. Pretending every decision was yours is the fastest way to sound rehearsed.

Say what you would do next

Judges probe what the student would do next. A student who owns the work usually has an opinion about this.

A good answer names the limit of the current result and the next experiment or analysis that would address it. It does not need to be big. It needs to show the student has been thinking about the problem, not just the poster.

Drop the lab’s vocabulary where you can

A few habits help a student sound like themselves:

• Explain a technical term the first time, in one sentence.
• Use “I” for what you did, and name the lab or a colleague for what they did.
• Lead with the question and the result before the technique.
• Keep the lab’s broad mission to a sentence of background.

One clear question with real data beats an ambitious project with no result. Students sometimes lean on the lab’s larger aim because their own result feels small. It usually lands better to present the smaller result honestly.

Practice without a script

The interview decides close calls, and the student must be able to defend the work without a script. Memorized answers tend to fall apart on the second follow-up question.

Practice out loud, with someone outside the field who will push. If a parent or friend can follow the explanation, a judge from another discipline probably can too.

The student does the work here. A mentor can ask hard questions and point out where an answer drifts into the lab’s voice, but the student owns the question, the data, the writing and the answers.

Make the paper and the conversation match

The research report is a maximum 20-page original scientific paper. The application also requires disclosure of all support received with the research project and the application, and entrants and mentors must disclose participation in paid programs.

The paper, the disclosures and what the student says out loud should tell the same story. If the paper says the student ran an analysis, the student should be able to walk through it.

Timing

The 2027 application closes November 5, 2026 at 8 PM ET. Top 300 Scholars are announced January 7, 2027, and the Top 40 Finalists on January 21, 2027.

Learn how we guide students through this at https://admissioninsight.org/science-fair-research-mentorship/, and see what to finish before the deadline in https://admissioninsight.org/regeneron-sts-2027-final-weeks/.

FAQ

My child’s research is part of a bigger lab project. How should they explain it to STS judges?

Briefly describe what the lab was already working on, then focus on the one question your child took on and why each choice was made. Research alongside adult researchers is permitted; judges assess whether the work is substantially the student’s own.

What do STS judges ask students who did research in a university lab?

In our view, judges probe whether the student can explain why each choice was made and what they would do next, without a script. Expect questions about controls and statistics, since that is where most projects lose points.

Is it okay to say a postdoc or the PI made some of the decisions?

Yes. Naming what others did makes your child’s own part clearer and more believable. The application also requires disclosure of all support received with the research project and the application.

How can my child stop sounding memorized when they talk about their project?

Practice out loud with someone outside the field who asks follow-up questions. Aim for comfort with the reasoning, not a script.

Can my child use the lab’s paper to prepare their STS answers?

The lab’s manuscript is not an STS paper. Your child writes their own research report, up to 20 pages, for a reader outside the field, and their answers should match what they wrote.