Rethinking PCOS: How a High School Scientist Is Opening New Doors for Women's Health

When most teenagers are figuring out how to juggle homework and hobbies, Mishika Bhatia was confronting something far more personal: a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that affects nearly 1 in 10 women worldwide, yet remains chronically under-researched.

When Mishika Bhatia first learned about PCOS, the treatment options offered felt frustratingly limited. Birth control pills were presented as the default answer—an answer Mishika quickly learned was repeated to millions of women, regardless of its side effects or limited effectiveness. But instead of resignation, Mishika felt frustration sharpen into resolve. If better answers didn't exist, she would begin looking for them herself.

At Rock Canyon High School in Colorado, she found her footing in the biotechnology program led by Susanne Petri, an educator who enables gifted science students to pursue ambitious research projects. With her support, Mishika launched her own research on PCOS, focusing on potential therapies that could target the biological mechanisms behind the condition rather than simply managing symptoms.

That resolve carried her from the classroom into the lab. With the mentorship of Dr. Joshua Johnson at CU Anschutz, Mishika uncovered a surprising link between prostate cancer and PCOS: the shared role of an enzyme that acted as a driving cause of a hormone central to PCOS symptoms—dihydrotestosterone (DHT). She designed experiments testing a plant-derived inhibitor of this pathway and found striking results: the possibility of reduced DHT production in a cellular model.

The project earned her 2nd place in Translational Medical Science at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), one of the most prestigious international science competitions for high school students. But for Mishika, it was never about the medal. "The results gave me something bigger than recognition," she explains. "The encouragement to continue my research gave me a sense of control over my own health, and hope that women like me don't have to settle for symptom management that doesn't work."

Now, Mishika is pursuing what she calls "comprehensive, symptom-based treatments" for PCOS: approaches that go beyond masking symptoms with contraceptives, to addressing the biological mechanisms driving them. By studying the intersection of hormones, metabolism, and inflammation, she hopes to chart a new path for therapies that meet patients where they are—messy, complicated, and human.

"PCOS isn't rare, but it is underserved," she says. "What excites me is the chance to contribute to research that might finally change that."