'American Idol-Style' Competition Captures Teen Scientist's Heart and Mind

Thomas Jefferson School's 15-year-old Maheetha Bharadwaj has been named one of 60 regional finalists in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition and will vie for some $50,000 in college scholarships April 15-18 in Washington, DC. She's already won at least $2,000.

A dozen top finalists—two from each of six regions—will be named April 18 by a panel of leading epidemiologists and public health experts. 

"It's only nine others to compete against," Bharadwaj explained Friday, by phone. It started with 600-700 applicants. She looked at some of her competitors' work online.

"The others' presentations are quite cool really," she said. The final leg of the journey for Bharadwaj includes 12-minute oral presentation and 10-15 minute question-and-answer period, with 10 slides maximum.

Jeffrey Piccirillo of Parkway West High School was named one of 65 semi-finalists and awarded $1,000.

Bharadwaj won with 600 hours of research on the non-medical use of prescription drugs by youth ages 10-15 and its link with cigarette smoking and negative societal factors. Her results showed the value of four (or more) sit-down dinners a week with family in steering youth clear of recreational drug use, drug abuse. She looked at 2,688 youth across 10 U.S. cities.

Her school, Thomas Jefferson in Sunset Hills, is a private co-ed day and boarding school on Lindbergh Boulevard, grades 7-12.

The competition aims to inspire the next generation of public health leaders and encourage the brightest young minds to enter the field, according to founding organizations The College Board and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“Students who compete in YES often go on to pursue important research in national and global health,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the RWJ Foundation, in a written statement.

Epidemiology is the study of patterns of health and illness and associated factors at the population level and is the cornerstone of public health research, according to Wikipedia.

Bharadwaj wants to study molecular biology in college, macroeconomics and music with a career ahead in hospital administration.

"I have a passion for science," Bharadwaj said. "I love to study. I value education." She also has a passion for fine arts, she said, and plays piano.

Bharadwaj was a summer scholar at the National Institute of Drug Use and this summer will intern with the National Institute of Environmental Health and Science in North Carolina.

She was awarded the United States Congress bronze medal for young Americans, and speaks Tamil, French and English. Tamil is a language spoken primarily in the southern region of India.

Watch Patch for updates on Bharadwaj's progress in the YES competition when they name the top 12 national finalists April 18.