- Manas Kandath, Eldorado High School, Albuquerque, NM
- Maya Krishnan, La Jolla Country Day School, San Diego, CA
- Natasha Kulviwat, Jericho High School, Jericho, NY
- Ryan Lee, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School, Plainview, NY
- Denise Rojas, Western High School, Anaheim, CA
Training Future Leaders
Rising Scientist Awards
Each year, college scholarships are awarded to five high school students who show exceptional promise in research in the fields of psychology, neuroscience or biomedical engineering. Read the guidelines below for eligibility.
This Program is Currently on Hold
About the Awards
The crisis in children’s mental health takes many forms. Stigma. Barriers to care. Slow progress on the science we need to develop new treatments.
By recognizing and investing in high school students — including those from diverse backgrounds and marginalized communities — who demonstrate exceptional early achievement in psychology, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering research, we accelerate discovery and help meet the increasing need for culturally competent youth mental health care.
Program Timeline
- Early fall – Call for applications
- Late fall – Applications and supporting materials due
- Mid-winter – Winners announced
- Early spring – Virtual presentations and awards ceremony
To be selected for the Rising Scientist Awards a student must demonstrate:
- Outstanding interest and achievement in psychology, neuroscience or biomedical engineering research
- Strong academic performance in science courses
- Participation in related extracurricular activities
- Scientific research studies or independent research in one of the three areas of focus
Each Rising Scientist receives:
- A $2,000 scholarship for college expenses
- An opportunity to share his or her research at the Child Mind Institute’s annual Rising Scientist Awards ceremony
- Invitations to attend a special educational event with representatives from the Child Mind Institute’s research programs and to shadow a Child Mind Institute researcher for a day
- Recognition in press releases distributed to national media outlets, on childmind.org and in social media promotion
Past Award Winners
- Hannah Cho, North Hollywood High School, Los Angeles, California
- Noemie Durand, BASIS DC, Washington, District of Columbia
- Ty Gelman, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore, New York
- Lina Iyer, Novi High School, Novi, Michigan
- Amith Vasantha, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, San Jose, California
- Natalie Calman, Ossining High School, Ossining, New York
- Jason Cui, Fairview High School, Boulder, Colorado
- Jeremy Kotlyar, Great Neck South High School, Lake Success, New York
- Zoe Pyne, Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, New York
- Vivek Sreejithkumar, A.D. Henderson/ Florida Atlantic University High School, Boca Raton, Florida
- Huong Nguyen, Leesville Road High School
- Reed Lessing, Chapin School
- Ethan Ocasio, New School
- Nikita Rohila, Stuttgart High School
- Julia Savino, Smithtown West High School
- Jacqueline Chan, Livingston High School
- David Frank, Bellmore John F Kennedy High School
- Gillian Gold, Ardsley High School
- Abhinav Kumar, Rye Country Day School
- Elizabeth Yaboni, Smithtown High School West
- Ellen Amico, Byram Hills High School
- Julia Morneau, Wilton High School
- James Rogers, Smithtown High School West
- Arsam Shaikh, High School for Youth and Community Development
- John Sukumar, Ossining High School
- Sarah Adamo, Smithtown High School West
- Zara Malik, Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School
- Hawthorne Ripley, The Packer Collegiate Institute
- Amy Shteyman, John L. Miller Great Neck North High School
- Kylie Zarro, Ossining High School
- Max Bazil, John F. Kennedy High School Bellmore
- Cosette Davis, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
- Rachel Goldman, Ardsley Union Free School District
- Claire Kelly, John F. Kennedy High School Bellmore
- Lauren Singer, Scarsdale High School
- Caitlin Unkenholz, Smithtown High School West
- Remi Golden, George W. Hewlet High School
- Rachel Mashal, John F. Kennedy High School Bellmore
- Morgan Robins, Hewitt School
- Emily Ryeome, The Chapin School
- Anna Vaynrub, Plainview Old Bethpage JFK High School
- Tynan Couture-Rashid, St. Ann’s School
- Matthew Guido, River Dell Regional High School
- Alexandra Hohmann, The Chapin School
- Skye Malik, The Hewitt School
- William Merrill, The Packer Collegiate Institute
- Brinda Ramesh, Ossining High School
- Isabella Salas-Allende, Marymount School of New York
- Morgan Savige, Riverdale Country School
- Faith Shaeffer, Hastings High School
- Yinge Zhao, The Dalton School
- Leighton Braunstein, The Dalton School
- Matthew Cavallaro, Bay Ridge Preparatory School
- Sarah Crawford, Notre Dame Academy
- Emily Garner, Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School
- Cristina Lai, Great Neck South High School
- Dante Natarelli, Robert Louis Stevenson School
- Sara Ragi, Dwight-Englewood School
- Jill Shah, Riverdale Country School
- Alexandra Brown-Weissman, The Hewitt School
- Hopewell Rogers, Marymount School of New York
- Jake Drobner, Dwight-Englewood School
- Sophia Edelstein, The Dalton School
- Mariel Emrich, Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School
- Daniel Fischer, The Abraham Joshua Heschel School
- Jane Jeffery, The Chapin School
- Ian Kaplan, The Bronx High School of Science
- Jillian Katz, Rye Country Day School
- Henry Magun, Riverdale Country School
- Maxine McGredy, Hunter College High School
- Anna Mendelson, The Hewitt School
