Congratulations to Jashvi Desai, Yorktown High School, and Khushi Karthikeyan, Ardsley High School
By Dan Murphy
Jashvi Desai
Khushi Karthikeyan
Congratulations to Jashvi Desai, from Yorktown High School, and Khushi Karthikeyan, from Ardsley High School, for being named among the top 40 finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026, America’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.
Jashvi Desai studied brain scans of people with long COVID and found that they had smaller memory-related brain regions. They also had thicker outer layers in other brain areas. Understanding how long COVID affects the brain could lead to better treatments. Jashvi is active in the Yorktown community. She is part of the Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps and a junior coach for the summer swim team.
Khushi Karthikeyan tested whether huge, old, metal-poor stars could be an early stage of a black hole. They tested their hypothesis with a series of simulation experiments. Her work sheds light on the mysterious life cycles of black holes. Khushi picked up playing the guitar to fulfill an art credit last year and still plays for fun. She also enjoys Dungeons & Dragons and studying dead languages.
Both finalists from Westchester, and each finalist will receive $25,000. From March 5-11, 2026, finalists will participate in a week-long competition where they will undergo a rigorous judging process to compete for more than $1.8 million in awards. The top 10 awards will be announced during an awards ceremony on March 10, 2026, with the top award totalling $250,000 to further their scientific education.
- The Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026 finalists represent 35 schools across 15 states. 40 finalists were chosen from 300 top scholars and more than 2,600 total entrants were selected based on the originality and creativity of their scientific research, as well as their achievement and leadership both inside and outside the classroom.
- Finalists will participate in a week-long competition from March 5-11, 2026, engaging in a rigorous judging process and competing for awards that recognize their excellence and can be used toward their education.
- They will also have an opportunity to interact with leading scientists and share research with the public on March 8, 2026.
- The top 10 Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026 winners will be announced during an awards ceremony on March 10, streamed live from Washington D.C.
- For a list of this year’s finalists, see here: https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/2026-finalists/.
“At Regeneron, we believe that scientific innovation is essential to addressing the world’s greatest challenges, and the Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists represent the brightest young minds working to shape a better future. These 40 students have demonstrated remarkable creativity, originality, and leadership in their scientific pursuits,” said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., co-Founder, co-Chairman, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron, and a 1976 top winner. “We are thrilled to celebrate their achievements and fuel their journey to advance scientific discovery. I look forward to seeing how their passion and dedication will drive meaningful progress for society in the years to come.”
Finalist research projects cover 16 categories, from Computer Science to Environmental Science. Other finalists chose to focus on Behavioral Sciences. The top 4 categories among finalist projects this year are:
- Computer Science
- Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- Mathematics
- Medicine and Health
“We are immensely proud to celebrate this extraordinary class of Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists and their remarkable achievements,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News. “As they build on a powerful 85-year legacy of scientific innovation, they are propelled by the strength and support of a dynamic scientific community.”
