Although the CURE lab reports demonstrated high achievement in most rubric categories, our analysis identified gaps in understanding the relevant biological principles (class median 67% in this category), which included the contribution of neuronal subtypes to neurodegenerative disease, the role of PLA2G6 in neurodegeneration, the use of Drosophila as a model organism, the GAL4-UAS system (which incorporates transcriptional regulation and transgenic organisms), and RNA interference. Here, PLA2G6 is linked to neurodegenerative disease.