Three high school students from the Adams 12 and Boulder Valley school districts have won the mobile app development challenge sponsored by U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse for their project, “BraiNformation.”

Krupa Subramaniam and Kai Hoshijo, who attend Legacy High School in Broomfield, and Koki Gunasinghe of Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette, developed an app to educate middle and high school students about how mental illness and drug use affect the brain.

“This year’s winners not only displayed their talented coding skills, but really focused on an issue that is influencing young people in our society and developed an app that will provide tools and education to address drug addiction and mental illness,” said Neguse.

Gunasinghe said that in light of the high number of student suicides in Adams 12 earlier this year, the app’s goal is “detailing the symptoms of depression and the effects of common drugs.”

Opening the app, a user will see a three-dimensional model of a brain that is color coded by function, as well as information about various diseases. For depression, the app includes statistics on types of depression, risk factors and symptoms.

“We included this information so if a student notices these symptoms, they can seek action more quickly and potentially save a life,” added Gunasinghe. Vaping effects are also detailed in the program.

BraiNformation is available through Apple and Google app stores.