Cancer Test Wins Top Science Fair Prize

Jack Andraka, reacting to winning first prize.

(by Brian Bowling, TribLive.com) – High school freshman Jack Andraka was awarded first place for his new method to detect pancreatic cancer at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science & the Public. Based on diabetic test paper, Jack created a simple dip-stick sensor to test blood or urine to determine whether or not a patient has early-stage pancreatic cancer. His study resulted in over 90 percent accuracy and showed his patent-pending sensor to be 28 times faster, 28 times less expensive and over 100 times more sensitive than current tests. Jack received the Gordon E. Moore Award of $75,000, named in honor of Intel co-founder and retired chairman and CEO.

Andraka’s invention uses a test strip and a meter similar to the ones diabetics use to test their blood-sugar levels. His process would test for the presence of proteins found in the blood or urine of people in the early stages of pancreatic cancer.

Andraka, 15, of Crownsville, Md., said he started working on the idea because he knows several people who have died of pancreatic cancer, including an uncle and a friend’s brother.  “It’s really a death sentence one you get it diagnosed,” he said.

The cancer usually isn’t detected until it spreads beyond the pancreas. At that stage, no cure is possible, and the average survival is less than a year, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Andraka said he wants to be a pathologist but he hasn’t decided on a college yet. His cancer test still must go through clinical trials and obtain Food and Drug Administration [FDA] approval. He will meet with Quest Diagnostics Inc. of Madison, N.J., and hopes to get the product on the market in the next 10 years.

A Quest Diagnostics spokeswoman couldn’t be reached for comment.

Brett Prince, director of product management for Precision Therapeutics Inc. in [Pittsburgh], said that in addition to getting FDA approval — which can take two to three years — Andraka must convince Medicare that the test is cost-effective and worthy of insurance coverage.  “It’s one of the biggest challenges, honestly,” Prince said. “Once you’ve proven the test works, you have to get payment for it.”

Another hurdle is getting doctors to use the test, which generally requires the endorsement of a prominent physician at a big academic hospital, Prince said.  “There are a lot of factors,” he said. “It’s very easy to be pessimistic about it, but it’s also very possible to do.”

The Society for Science & the Public, a Washington nonprofit, has owned and administered the science fair since its inception in 1950. The world’s largest high school science research competition this year brought together more than 1,500 finalists from 446 affiliated fairs in 70 countries, regions and territories.  

Two students, Nicholas Schiefer, 17, of Pickering, Ontario, Canada and Ari Dyckovsky, 18, of Leesburg, Va., each received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000.

Nicholas studied what he calls “microsearch,” or the ability to search the fastest-growing information medium: small amounts of content, such as tweets and Facebook status updates. Through his research, Nicholas hopes to improve search engines’ capabilities, which will in turn improve access to information.

Ari investigated the science of quantum teleportation. He found that once atoms are linked through a process called “entanglement,” information from one atom will just appear in another atom when the quantum state of the first atom is destroyed. Using this method, organizations requiring high levels of data security, such as the National Security Administration, could send an encrypted message without running the risk of interception because the information would not travel to its new location; it would simply appear there.

“We congratulate Jack, Nicholas, and Ari on their success here at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair,” said Elizabeth Marincola, president of Society for Science & the Public. “They and all the other finalists here this week further demonstrate how a background of STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] education creates the breeding ground for creativity and ingenuity that will help solve the pressing issues of the future.” 

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair includes some of the most promising rising student entrepreneurs, innovators and scientists from around the world. Finalists are selected annually from hundreds of affiliated fairs. Their projects are then evaluated onsite by more than 1,200 judges from nearly every scientific discipline, each with a Ph.D. or the equivalent of 6 years of related professional experience in one of the scientific disciplines.

Compiled from articles published on May 18th by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and The Sacramento Bee.  Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from triblive.com and sacbee.com.