In our fifth year, the Washington Tracking Network Youth Science Contest continues to grow, and we see students across the state participating. It’s inspiring to see how students create public health solutions for real-world problems. Participants showed creativity, knowledge, and critical thinking in their projects.
Congratulations to all our winners!
We invite you to explore the winning projects below.
Health Science - Individual Division
1st Place – “Smoke, Silence, and Inequality: Understanding the forces behind lung cancer in Washington State — and who will bear the burden tomorrow” website by Harsaaj Bhatia, The Overlake School
2nd Place – “Access to Healthcare Disparities in Incidence and Mortality of Brain and Nervous System Cancers: Are certain geographic regions more affected in Washington state?” slideshow (PDF) by Ridhaan Palkar, Sammamish High School
3rd Place – “Clearing the Air: Investigating the impact of particulate matter (PM2.5) on birth weight disparities across Washington counties” slideshow (PDF) by Ananya Karthik Rabindranath, Tesla STEM High School
Health Science - Group Division
1st Place – “The Impact of English Deficiency on Healthcare Access” paper (PDF) by Aditya Nandwani and Alexander Yu, Interlake Senior High School
2nd Place – “The Relationship Between Redlined Areas and Lung Cancer Risk” poster (PDF) by Morgan Sheppard and Cadence Sheppard, Shorecrest High School
3rd Place – “Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality Across Washington State” slideshow (PDF) by Aanya Surukanti and Sahasra Voruganti, Redmond High School
Science Communication - Individual Division
1st Place – “Bridging the Gap: Mental health where it’s needed most” infographic (PDF) and context paper (PDF) by Xiaoyan Yan, Tesla STEM High School
2nd Place – “The 21st Week: Wildfire smoke and fetal health” website by Muireann Kumar, Newport High School
3rd Place – “You Are What You Eat - That May Be Dead. Campylobacteriosis: The secret killer” social media campaign (PDF) by Sri Sahasra Kandula, Redmond High School
Science Communication - Group Division
1st Place – “Yakima County Awareness Campaign: Access to clean water” newsletter (PDF) and context paper (PDF) by Chloe Byun and Sophia Liao, King's Schools
2nd Place – “Forever Chemicals (PFAS) in Menstrual Products” slideshow (PDF) by Harshitha Anbukumar and Nila Natarajan, Skyline High School
3rd Place – “Birth Outcomes: How does adolescent pregnancy affect low birth weight rates by county in Washington state?” slideshow (PDF) and social media post by Shriya Iyer and Sherry Wang, Interlake High School
Program and Policy Design - Individual Division
1st Place – “The Compound Threat: How thermal stress, agricultural chemicals, and socioeconomic barriers correlate to cardiovascular mortality in Yakima County” paper (PDF) by Inesh Mamidipaka, Redmond High School
2nd Place – “Fish Out of Water: Identifying environmental health disparities in WA lakes: Comparison of anthropogenic pollutants in Lake Washington vs Lake Chelan” slideshow (PDF) by Akchara Mukunthu Deepak Babu, Tesla STEM High School
3rd Place – “Assessing the Driving Factors and Socioeconomic Disparities of Carbapenemase Producing Organism (CPO) Infections” slideshow (PDF) by Janani Srikumar, Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
Program and Policy Design - Group Division
1st Place – “The Impact of the Housing Crisis on Veterans in Washington State and Possible Solutions” paper (PDF) by Videh Jain, Ishani Sen, and Reeti Banerjee, Skyline High School
2nd Place – “The Clean Air Access Initiative” paper (PDF) by Julie Hu and Yijia Wen, Interlake High School
3rd Place – “Lead Us Not into Contamination: The lead rapid response policy and equity support program” proposal (PDF) by Zoha Khan and Kaya Okahata, Interlake High School