Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition

Awards Encourage High School Students To Help Solve Critical Health Problems

Sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the College Board, the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) program is a competition that annually awards nearly $500,000 in college scholarships to high school juniors and seniors who develop research projects using the principles of epidemiology—the branch of medicine that deals with the study of causes, distribution, and control of disease among populations—to advance understanding of critical public health-related issues.

YES competitors develop a research question and hypothesis about an important health issue. They gather and analyze data, present results, and suggest ways to problem-solve. Past projects have addressed issues such as childhood obesity, HIV/AIDS, childhood asthma, teen pregnancy, and health and substance abuse. Projects are judged by a panel of leading epidemiologists and educators, and finalists are selected to present their research to a panel of leaders in the field of public health at the national YES Competition in Washington, D.C. The top two national winners receive awards of $50,000 each; a select number of finalists receive $15,000, $20,000, and $35,000 scholarships.

For more information, visit www.collegeboard.com/yes. The deadline to apply is 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, p.m., February 2, 2009.