TIME honors a 15-year-old for his contribution to potentially helping cure skin cancer!
Heman Bekele has seen the effects of the sun on human skin since he was a boy growing up in Ethiopia. He noticed that many people work in the sun without protecting their skin, TIME reported in a story celebrating the teenager who was named “Wedge of the Year.”
Years later, after his family immigrated to the US, 7-year-old Bekele received a sodium hydroxide chemistry set for Christmas. Then he began to learn the power of chemical reactions.
Around this time, he also began to think more critically about the potential damage that prolonged sun exposure can have on the human body.
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“When I was younger, I didn’t think much about it, but when I came to America, I realized how big a problem the sun and ultraviolet radiation is when you’re exposed to it for a long time,” Bekele told TIME.
He became interested in research related to skin cancer and its treatment.
“I’m really passionate about skin cancer research,” he told the magazine. “Whether it’s my own research or what’s happening in the field.”
Heman Bekele.
Photo by Dina Litovsky for TIME
Eventually, he learned about imiquimod, a drug already approved to treat some forms of skin cancer. When used in cream form, it can also help destroy tumors.
Ali Bekele recalled his early years in Ethiopia and wondered if there was a way to use imiquimod to treat earlier stages of skin cancer and make it more accessible to people of different socio-economic classes.
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“Almost everyone uses soap and water to clean. So soap would probably be the best option,” Bekele said of why he decided to develop soap. The soap would cost people significantly less than the cream’s current price of $40,000.
In the video that followed TIME article and explained how the soap works, Bekele explained that it contains nanoparticles “charged” with imiquimod, which helps ensure the drug stays on the skin at a “very molecular level” even when the soap is washed off.
His idea has potential according to scientists involved in skin cancer research and treatment, as well as judges from 3M and Discovery Education’s 2023 Young Scientist Challenge, who named Bekele the winner and awarded him $25,000.
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Heman Bekele.
Photo by Dina Litovsky for TIME
There are still many stages before the soap is approved for treatment, but when Bekele isn’t at school at Woodson High School in Fairfax County, Va., he’s doing research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
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Molecular biologist Vito Rebecca invited Bekele to use the lab at any time, and the teenager meanwhile accepted the offer. Rebecca, who is also a professor at Johns Hopkins, now acts as Bekele’s sponsor. The duo used mice in the lab to perform basic tests for the soap.
According to TIMEBekele potentially has another ten years before the soap is approved as a cancer treatment. In the meantime, he promotes it in presentations; that is, when he’s not playing in an orchestra and enjoying a game of chess.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education