Indian-origin teen wins $250K US science prize

New York, March 15

An Indian-origin teen has won a prestigious high schoolers’ science prize of $250,000 for developing a computer model to predict the structure of RNA molecules that can aid in quickly diagnosing diseases.

Neel Moudgal, 17, was announced the winner of the Regeneron Science Talent competition on Tuesday.

Ambika Grover, 17, was ranked sixth for an $80,000 award and Siddhu Pachipala, 18, placed ninth for a $50,000 prize.

About 2,000 high school students competed in the Science Talent Search with 40 selected for the final round.

According to the Society for Science that ran the competition sponsored by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Moudgal’s computational biology and bioinformatics project “can rapidly and reliably predict the structure of various RNA molecules to facilitate the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutic drugs for diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases and viral infections”.

Grover developed an injectable micro-bubble to break up blood clots and treat stroke victims by restoring the blood flow to the brain.