A 14-year-old Teenager Named The US Best Young Scientist, Finds Soap To Treat Skin Cancer

Heman Bekele, America's Best Young Scientist in 2023 (photo: dock 3M)

Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old teenager who is a ninth grade student at WT Woodson High School in Annandale, Virginia, was named America's Best Young Scientist in 2023 by 3M Young Scientists Challenge. He won a grand prize of 25,000 US dollars (IDR 396 million).

Bekele creates soap to fight skin cancer by mixing medical soap with three ingredients that have been shown to activate dendritic cells that produce an immune response to fight cancer.

Not only does the soap help fight skin cancer, but Bekele found that each soap rod costs only US$0.50 (Rp. 8000), compared to the more than US$40,000 (Rp. 633.8 million) required for current medical treatment.

Over the next five years, Bekele hopes to perfect this revolutionary innovation and establish a nonprofit organization to distribute this low-cost solution to communities in need.

"The skin cancer is mostly found in people living in developing countries," Bekele told Farifax County Public Schools. "But the average price for the operation was 40,000 dollars. I was devastated by the idea of people having to choose between treatment and feeding their families. There were so many preventable deaths."

This teenager began researching skin cancer and learning about dendritic cells, which he said helped protect the skin by increasing the immune response. Bekele's donation video for the competition explains that three ingredients, namely salicylic acid, glycolate acid, and tretinoin, are an agent of kematolitics that outlines the outer layers of the skin.

This allows receptors such as toll-like, a protein that plays a key role in natural immune systems, to be released into the skin attached to and activate dendritic cells. Dendritic cells join white blood cells to fight infected cells.

Bekele calls its product soap for skin cancer treatment or SCTS, which it says can be applied to the skin every few days after getting a prescription.

In addition to the title, Bekele also received a reward of 25,000 dollars, which is expected to be used to secure patents and higher education. He dreams of becoming an electric engineer when he grows up.

"I imagine I lead a professional team in the development of an innovative power system that will shape the future of technology," Bekele said, quoted by MailOnline's VOI.

"In addition to my professional success, I hope to have a satisfying private life with a loving family and a strong network of friends. I also hope to have contributed to my community by being a mentor to potential engineers and supporting initiatives that promote STEM education. In the end, in 15 years, I hope to have a positive impact on the world through my work and personal venture," said Bekele.