It started as a game, or rather from a game: he was 7 years old, Same as Bekelewhen he received his first little chemist’s set to learn, while having fun, to mix substances and discover their reactions. Today he is 15 years old and the Time awarded him for his contribution to the potential treatment and care of skin cancer: from a pastime to a real passion that could have very important implications.
Bekele was chosen by Time as its Boy of the Year
The teenager, born and raised in Ethiopiasince he was a child he noticed the effects of the sun on the skin of the people around him, especially workers who did not use any type of sunscreen, as reported in the article celebrating him as “Boy of the Year”. Then, when his family emigrated to the United States and he received that gift, he began to learn the power of chemical reactions, in particular discovering the potential damage that prolonged exposure to the sun can have on the human body. “When I was younger I didn’t think about it much, but when I came to America I realized that the sun and ultraviolet radiation is a big problem when you’re exposed to it for a long time,” Bekele told Time.
He was particularly interested in skin cancer research and treatment and learned about theimiquimoda drug already approved to treat some forms of skin cancer. When used in cream form, it can also help fight tumors, but the young Ethiopian, thinking back to his childhood in his home country, wondered if there was a way to use imiquimod to treat the early stages of cancer and at the same time make the drug more accessible to people of different socioeconomic classes. “Almost everyone uses soap and water to wash themselves. So the soap would probably be the best option,” explained Heman Bekele. A bar of soap would in fact cost much less than the current 40,000 dollars of the cream.
Learn more:
14-Year-Old Student Develops Soap to Treat Skin Cancer
In a video accompanying the article, the 15-year-old explained that the product contains nanoparticles “loaded” with imiquimod, which ensure that the medicine remains on the skin at a “very molecular level” even when the soap is washed off. An idea with real potential, according to scientists who research and treat this type of cancer and to judges from the 3M company and Discovery Education’s 2023 Young Scientist Challenge, who awarded Bekele a $25,000 check. There are still many steps to go before soap is approved as a treatment, but when the teenager is not at school he spends his time in the ricerca alla Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore. Molecular biologist Vito Rebecca invited Bekele to use the lab at any time, and the teenager accepted the offer. According to Time, it will take a decade before the soap is approved as a cancer treatment, but in the meantime, its creator promotes it in presentations, when he’s not playing in the marching band or chess.
