DermaDetect wins Rep. Bill Huizenga’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Michigan’s Fourth District
Rep. Bill Huizenga has named Jason Shaye and Aryaman Mishra of Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Michigan’s Fourth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of DermaDetect, the students said, “I had a personal experience with a skin lesion in which my family and I tried to have it checked out by a professional dermatologist. But as we scheduled the appointment, we were forced to wait over 2 months just to have my lesion checked —a time much too long for a patient who could have been in a later stage of skin cancer. Doing more background research showed that this was a widespread problem across all people facing skin lesion issues, leading my partner and I to set out on a way to improve this process both from a patient usage standpoint (with a simple easy to use app) and from a technological standpoint (creating a novel deep learning model to detect skin cancer at higher accuracies). ”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival.
The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.