The American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative
Lung Cancer Innovation Challenge
An international competition to promote medical innovation, policy, and advocacy in lung cancer screening.
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High school and middle school students are eligible to participate!
Develop and execute a creative project to increase lung cancer screening for a chance to win prizes of
$10000, $5000, or $2000!
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and the world.
Patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer at an early stage due to frequent and accessible lung cancer screening have a survival rate of over 80%, while those diagnosed at a late stage have a survival rate of 12%. However, only 20% of eligible adults currently receive lung cancer screening. The American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative (ALCSI) is an international organization dedicated to spreading lung cancer screening awareness.
The ALCSI Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for students to learn about and advance the field of lung cancer. Students will develop and execute a project that addresses the question:
"What innovative and impactful solution can I develop to raise awareness for lung cancer and get as many people screened for lung cancer as possible?"
Students will have the opportunity to meet with community leaders, healthcare experts, and renowned researchers from institutions such as Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital to develop and carry out their projects. Participants will report on their impact and metrics. Selected finalists will be invited to present at the final ALCSI Summit in Boston, MA, in July 2027.
Celebrating the 2026 Innovation Challenge
The inaugural ALCSI Lung Cancer Innovation Challenge brought together more than 1,000 middle and high school students from around the world to develop creative solutions focused on increasing awareness of lung cancer screening and early detection.
Over the course of the challenge, students transformed their ideas into real-world projects with guidance from ALCSI mentors, physicians, researchers, patient advocates, and public health leaders. Projects were evaluated on innovation, impact, scalability, cost, and subject knowledge.
Following a competitive selection process, 10 finalist teams were invited to Boston to present their projects live at the 2026 ALCSI Summit. After presentations before a distinguished panel of judges, three teams were awarded first, second, and third place, with an additional project recognized with the Audience Choice Award.
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Meet the 2026 Innovation Challenge Winners
First Place - $10,000
Breathe Easy Initiative
Arsheen Sethi — Monroe-Woodbury High School
Jeevat Sethi — Monroe-Woodbury Middle School
The Breathe Easy Initiative created a comprehensive community outreach program in New York designed to increase awareness of lung cancer screening. The team combined lung cancer education, smoking-history surveys, partnerships with hospitals and nonprofit organizations, and direct engagement with community members to identify individuals who may benefit from screening and connect them with information and resources.
Their approach demonstrated how student-led education and community partnerships can help bring lung cancer screening awareness directly to the people who need it most.
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Second Place - $5,000
LungFACTS: Follow-up Analytics and Community Targeting System
Rohan Kundra — Great Valley High School, Pennsylvania
Neil Thakkar — Downingtown STEM Academy, Pennsylvania
LungFACTS combines an AI-supported patient navigator with a lung cancer screening tracking system to make the screening process easier to understand and navigate.
Users provide information such as their age and smoking history, and the platform helps them understand whether they may meet current screening eligibility criteria. Rather than stopping at eligibility, LungFACTS also connects users with practical next steps, including screening-center resources, insurance information, and the ALCSI Lung Cancer Screening Hotline.
During its pilot, LungFACTS reached users across the United States, demonstrating the potential for technology to address barriers between screening eligibility and screening completion.
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Third Place - $2,000
Breath of Remembrance
Ava Villacorta — Senior from Corona, California
Breath of Remembrance used art and storytelling to make lung cancer education more personal and accessible. The project invited students to create artwork recognizing public figures affected by lung cancer while incorporating education about lung cancer awareness, risk, and screening.
By connecting creative expression with public health education, Breath of Remembrance demonstrated a distinctive approach to reducing stigma and bringing conversations about lung cancer and early detection to younger audiences and their communities.
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Audience Favorite Award
Breathe Safe: Radon Exposure Awareness Initiative
Kavya Shah — Illinois
Tanya Tanyasri — Illinois
Srimedha Verrathu — Illinois
Selected by attendees at the 2026 ALCSI Summit, Breathe Safe: Radon Exposure Awareness Initiative received the inaugural Innovation Challenge Audience Favorite Award.
The project focused on increasing awareness of radon exposure, an important environmental risk factor for lung cancer, and educating communities about the importance of understanding and reducing potential exposure. Through their initiative, the team brought attention to a frequently overlooked cause of lung cancer while helping make information about radon risk and prevention more accessible.
Their project resonated with Summit attendees for its combination of public health education, environmental awareness, and lung cancer prevention.
2026- 2027 ALCSI Innovation Challenge Timeline
Enrichment Phase
November 2026 - January 2027
Students will begin the Innovation Challenge by learning from leaders across the lung cancer community. Through virtual panels, workshops, and discussions with lung cancer survivors, advocates, physicians, researchers, medical students, and other experts, participants will build the knowledge and skills needed to develop an impactful project.
Programming will include the Innovation Challenge Kickoff on November 1, a Survivor & Advocate Panel on November 30, a Medical Student Panel on December 15, and a How to Innovate Workshop and Office Hours on January 20.
Application (One-Page Proposal + Registration)
Due February 1, 2027 | Rolling basis (open now)
Students (individual or team) will submit a one-page description for the project they will carry out to advance lung cancer awareness, prevention, screening, or early detection.
Students are encouraged to submit their proposals early. Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with feedback generally provided within approximately two weeks of submission. Students can immediately start carrying out their project, but will need to have all written materials approved through this form.
By January 15, all participants (individual or team) must formally register for the competition through this form
A Distinguished Lecture Series session will be held February 10, followed by project feedback by February 15, allowing students to refine their ideas before moving fully into implementation.
Mentorship
February 15 - May | 2027
Beginning in February, students will meet with their ALCSI mentor to discuss their progress, impact, and metrics collected. This mentor will serve as a guiding resource as participants carry out their projects, make any necessary changes to their execution, and prepare for their final submission.
Throughout the implementation period, participants will submit brief progress updates and continue to have access to ALCSI educational programming and support.
Key Project checkpoints:
March 15 - Month 1 update
March 30 - Distinguished Lecture Series Session
April 15 - Month 2 update
April 30 - College & Medical Student Panel
May 10 - Innovation Challenge Office Hours
In-Depth Metric Report
May 15 | 2027
To document impact, students will submit an in-depth metric report outlining the work they have done for their project. Students will be evaluated based on scalability, innovation, cost, impact, and subject knowledge (see rubric for details). Highest-scoring students/teams will be designated as finalists and invited to present their final project at the 2027 ALCSI Summit in Boston, MA.
Top-performing teams will be selected as 2027 ALCSI Innovation Challenge Finalists and invited to present their projects at the ALCSI Summit. Finalists will have the opportunity to share their work with members of the lung cancer community, receive feedback from leaders in the field, and compete for the 2027 Innovation Challenge awards.
ALCSI Summit
July 10-12 | 2026
Finalists will be invited to Boston to present their final projects to students, world-renowned faculty from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, physicians, researchers, patient advocates, public health leaders, and members of the ALCSI community from across the country.
The top 3 teams will be selected to receive prizes of $10,000 (1st place), $5,000 (2nd place), and $2,000 (3rd place). In addition to their presentation, students will have the chance to engage in conference programming (keynote session, lung cancer survivor panel, surgical skills lab, and more!)
After completing the ALCSI Innovation Challenge, students are encouraged to continue expanding their projects. Participants are always welcome to reconnect with mentors and speakers and join other ALCSI initiatives.
Challenge updates will be regularly posted on social media. Please email with any questions.
Instagram: alcsi.innovationchallenge
We are grateful for the support of members from the following institutions:
