October 19, 2020 4:31:25 pm
As the entire world eagerly awaits a vaccine that offers protection against the new coronavirus, a discovery by a 14-year-old American Indian teenager could show a way forward.
Anika Chebrolu, an eighth-grade student from Frisco in Texas, won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, which is considered the premier US high school science competition, for her work that could provide potential therapy for Covid-19 .
According to the 3M Challenge website, Chebrolu’s work uses an in-silico methodology to discover a leader molecule that can selectively bind to the peak protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The teenager decided to compete in the Young Scientist Challenge after battling a serious influenza infection last year. I wanted to find a cure for the flu. However, all of that changed after the pandemic struck earlier this year, the website said.
“After spending so much time researching pandemics, viruses and drug discovery, it was crazy to think that I was actually experiencing something like this,” Anika told CNN.
“Due to the immense severity of the Covid-19 pandemic and the drastic impact it had on the world in such a short time, I, with the help of my mentor, changed direction to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus.” she added.
Chebrolu was one of the 10 finalists in this year’s competition. In addition to exclusive tutoring from 3M, he also won a $ 25,000 prize money.
Speaking to CNN, Dr. Cindy Moss, one of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge judges, said Chebrolu has an inquisitive mind and used her curiosity to ask questions about a vaccine for Covid-19.
“His work was thorough and he examined numerous databases. She also developed an understanding of the innovation process and is a masterful communicator. His willingness to use his time and talent to help make the world a better place gives us all hope, ”Moss said on the website.
The 14-year-old was also inspired to find potential cures for viruses after learning of the 1918 flu pandemic and how many people die each year in the States despite the fact that flu vaccines and medications are available in the United States. market.
Chebrolu also says that while the winning title and prize money are an honor, his work is not done yet. She says her next goal is to work alongside scientists and researchers struggling to “control morbidity and mortality” from the pandemic developing their findings on a real cure for the virus.
“My effort to find a lead compound that binds to the peak protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus this summer may seem like a drop in the bucket, but it still adds to all these efforts,” he told CNN. “How you further develop this molecule with the help of virologists and drug development specialists will determine the success of these efforts,” said Chebrolu, who also practices Bharatanatyam.
The new coronavirus has so far killed more than 1.1 million people worldwide since it was first reported in China in December 2019.
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