Anika Chebrolu, 14, who finds a molecule to combat COVID-19, named American young scientist
This month, Anika Chebrolu was named the 2020 3M Young Scientist, winner of the premier middle school science competition in America. Using a method for drug discovery, she found a molecule that can selectively bind to the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus, which could help in the cure for the disease.
Chebrolu, 14-years-old, was in the eighth grade at Nelson Middle School in Frisco, Texas, when she entered the competition. She was one of seven Indians among the ten finalists short-listed for the award. Each finalist, aged 12-14, worked with a mentor at 3M on their project. The finalists were evaluated on a series of challenges on innovative thinking, scientific acumen, and communication skills.
Winners of the award, now in its 13th year, have gone on to file patents and found nonprofits. Chebrolu received a $25,000 prize from 3M and Discovery Education.
Chebrolu was also selected for the Improving Lives Award, which recognizes one of the final projects with potential to change the most lives. This selection was done through an online public vote.
3M, of St. Paul, Minnesota, defines its mission as science applied to life. It is a vendor of a wide range of specialized industrial and consumer products around the globe. It has $32 billion in annual sales, 96,000 employees and a market value of $98 billion.
Chebrolu’s initial project was to identify a compound to bind with the protein of the influenza flu virus, after she had a severe infection last year. Each winter, in the U.S. alone, over nine million people catch the flu and over 12,000 lose their lives. She switched to finding a compound for the COVID-19 virus, at the suggestion of 3M scientist Mahfuza Ali, who was her mentor for the final project. Ali helped Chebrolu convert her idea into a physical prototype.
Ali, who works in 3M’s Materials Resource division, is a Carlton Society inductee, the highest technical honor at 3M. One of the materials Ali developed has generated several successful products for 3M, including antistatic polarizer films used for laptops and Television sets, ink-receptive films used for printing durable, brighter images and antimicrobial coatings.
Ali joined 3M in 1984, after completing one year of a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Kentucky. She has a Bachelor’s in chemistry from Dhaka Bishwabidyalaya in Bangladesh.
Laasya Acharya, from Mason Middle School in Ohio, came in third. She used a neural network to analyze images that will enable farmers to detect diseased crops and reduce waste and loss. The other five Indian Americans among the ten finalists are: Rithvik Ijju from the Challenge School in Cherry Creek, Colorado, who invented a robotic glove system to improve rehabilitation of damaged motor skills in the hands; Ekansh Mittal from Meadow Park Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon who, developed a microfluidic device that mimics conditions of the gut microbiome to help test the relationship between bacteria and cancer, as well as new treatments against the disease; Harsha Pillarisetti from Ranch Middle School in the San Ramon Valley, California, who identified a low-cost approach to reducing indoor air pollution using leaf-like structures; Samhita Pokkunuri from Carl Sandburg Middle School in New Jersey, who designed multiple robots to mimic swarm intelligence to be used to accomplish complex tasks and collect data to help with healthcare, agriculture, construction and other businesses, and Samvrit Rao from Stone Hill Middle School in Loudoun County, Virginia, whose affordable, telemedicine-based solution accurately captures and relays breath sounds along with symptomatic data to doctors.
The 3M award is tied to its Young Scientist Lab, which provides no-cost digital resources for students, teachers, and families to explore, transform, and innovate the world around them. The resources are available through the 3M Channel and on Discovery Education Experience.
Chebrolu has been studying Bharatnatyam, the traditional South Indian dance, for eight years. She got her interest in chemistry from her grandfather, a professor of chemistry, who encouraged her to study the elements in the periodic table. She wants to be a doctor or medical researcher. “There is a lot of media hype about my project” since it involves the COVID-19 virus, Chebrolu told CNN. “…It reflects our collective hopes to end this pandemic as I, like everyone else, wish that we go back to our normal lives soon.”