14-year-old teenager awarded for achieving a breakthrough in the treatment against Covid
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Posted on October 30, 2020
Anika Chebrolu, a student from Independence High School in Frisco, Texas (USA), has developed a molecule that binds to a protein in the SARS-CoV-2 virus and stops this virus from working. It is a hopeful finding to find a cure.
This discovery has led her to win a contest, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, awarded with $ 25,000.
Using a computer program, she discovered how the molecule could bind to the virus, based on a database of more than 682 million compounds. Although initially her research was aimed at the common flu virus, the spread of the pandemic caused her to change her plans.
In addition to the explosion of Covid-19 cases around the world and the testimonies of people who have suffered the disease or have lost a family member or friend for this reason, his grandfather has been another of the reasons that have prompted this young promise of science to find a cure for the disease caused by this new coronavirus.
"I have always been passionate about science experiments since my childhood. My grandfather, when I was younger, always encouraged me to follow the path of science. In fact, he was a chemistry teacher, and he always told me to learn the periodic table of elements and other things about science and eventually just I loved it.", says Chebrolu, currently 14 years old, and who aspires to become a medical researcher and teacher.
