Victoria Kim of Fremont was awarded a $2,000 college scholarship as a regional finalist in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition, one of the nation's most prestigious and influential high school science competitions.

Kim, a 17-year-old junior from Washington High School in Fremont, was among 60 high school students selected from nearly 700 entrants nationwide to compete in the finals held in the nation's capital. The YES Competition, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and administered by the College Board, is designed to spur students' interest in epidemiology - the science of studying the causes, distribution, and control of disease among populations.

Competitors had to develop a research project in which they identified a health problem, gathered data about that problem, and addressed the problem based on the data they gathered. Kim's project was entitled: "Gum Disease in Youth."

The winners in the Washington D.C. competition were chosen by a panel of judges that included some of the nation's top epidemiologists, as well as high school teachers and curriculum developers. The competitors gave oral presentations about their projects and fielded questions from judges.

Research on teen self-harm and a study about the effect of exercise on mood disorders took first prize. Natalia Nazarewicz, the 18-year-old who conducted the self-harm survey, and Aman Prasad, an 18-year-old senior from Pocatello, Idaho, were each awarded a $50,000 college scholarship for taking top honors.