Teen Maryland prodigy creates model to map dual disease spread and guide vaccines

Alyssa Yu, a 17-year-old student from Montgomery County, Maryland, created a new computational framework to forecast the joint spread of two pathogens across interconnected regions. Using reaction-diffusion equations on metapopulation networks, the model tracks both spatial movement and within-host interactions, pinpointing areas where co-epidemics could surge. Simulated vaccination scenarios indicate that concentrating limited doses on the model-identified hotspots outperforms even distribution across the whole population.

Yu’s research secured her a place among the 40 national finalists in the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search, evaluated by the Society for Science. She conducted part of the study through MIT’s PRIMES-USA program under mentor Laura P. Schaposnik, and also leads her high school’s math team and local sustainability initiatives. The model offers a potential tool for public-health agencies to improve real-time forecasting and resource allocation during overlapping outbreaks.