2025 HSHRC Semifinalists/Finalists
The HSHRF competition received hundreds of submissions from high school students worldwide. After a rigorous review by the education team and our panel of judges, six semifinalists were selected, followed by five finalist projects showcasing the most innovative and feasible health solutions proposed by teenagers.
Finalists:
EasyBZ Microneedle Patch by Shripriya Kalbhavi
Teenage Scientists Against Superbugs: A Citizen Science Approach to Antibiotic Discovery by Emaan Sheikh
Prediabetes Detection and Healthcare Accessibility: GlucAI by Nisha Liana Evangelista
Restoring Kanpur: Advanced Nanomembranes for Clean Water by Gabriel Cacho/Pranav Ayyappan
Semifinalists:
Speak Up and Spit Out by William Koh
Improving Accessibility to Vaccination in Rural Areas: A Mobile Vaccination Drive with GPS-Based App by Nidhi Veerenda
Teens Against Ticks: Growing Tick Awareness in the Garden State by Vajra Venkitesh
Nourish & Flourish: Teen Cooking Clubs by Amaya Williams
Functional Neurological Disorder & VR Therapy by Samy El-Zahabi
West Nile Virus: A Growing Threat in a Changing Climate by Adil Mukhi
2025 Judging Panel
Dr. Immaculata De Vivo
Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Causes & Control, Professor of Science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Margaret Du
Associate Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Dr. Sébastien Thuault
Editor-in-Chief of Nature Aging
2025 Competition Details
The 2025 High School Health Research Challenge is an HSHRF competition open to high school students of all nationalities, focusing on the creativity and feasibility of coming up with potential solutions to relevant societal health issues.
Eligibility: The competition is only open to full-time high school students (grades 9-12) attending a public school, private school, or home school at the time of application.
U.S. citizenship is not required
International students may submit
Students living outside of the U.S. are eligible to submit
Your Task: Create a 2 page summary or 2 minute video identifying a significant or pressing health challenge facing society today, and propose a creative and feasible solution that teenagers can potentially develop or implement to address or mitigate this issue.
Award Information: The top winner of the competition will win the Pioneer in Health Research Award™, which includes a $500 scholarship and a certification recognized by the panel of distinguished judges. There will be 3-5 runner-ups, who will receive recognition on the Expo showcase. Top 10 submissions will be recognized as semifinalists, receiving recognition on our website.
2025 Judging Panel: The professional judging panel is in charge of selecting the final-round winners and the Pioneer in Health Research. The judges include Dr. Immaculata De Vivo, Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Causes & Control and Professor of Science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Dr. Sebastien Thuault, Editor-in-Chief of Nature Aging; and Dr. Margaret Du, Associate Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine.