15. That’s how old Jack Andraka was
when he developed a test to diagnose pancreatic cancer cheaper, faster, and
more accurately than any other in existence.
Jack’s interest in pancreatic
cancer began after a close family friend died only a short time after being
diagnosed. Pancreatic cancer has one of the worst survival rates because it can
spread quickly and is often diagnosed much too late to be treated. My grandpa
was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late August of 2011 and passed away not
even a month later. The doctors said he could have had the cancer for five
years and not experienced any symptoms until then. After learning this
information about pancreatic cancer, Jack, who had always had a gift for
science, decided to do some research of his own. One day when he was in biology
class, Jack was reading an article about nanotubes, which are miniscule
tube-shaped molecules composed of carbon atoms. At the same time, his teacher
was lecturing about antibodies. Jack suddenly had the idea to lace
mesothelin-specific antibodies into a network of nanotubes. Mesothelin is a
protein in the blood that is overexpressed in people with pancreatic cancer and
some other cancers. The idea was that the antibodies in the blood from a person
with cancer would bind to the mesothelin and enlarge. The more mesothelin, the
more the antibodies would bind and grow.
Jack wrote up a detailed procedure and sent it to 200 researchers at
Johns Hopkins and the National Institute of Health. He only received one
response. But that’s all he needed. Jack
worked countless hours in the lab after school and on the weekends for 7
months. Finally, he had a test that was capable of measuring mesothelin levels
in the blood of mice with human pancreatic tumors.
As with all science, there are
always critics. George Church of Harvard reviewed Jack’s work and had concerns
about the validity of some of his claims. He believed that Jack was off to a
good start, but that there was still a lot of work that needed to be done
before the before the test could be considered practical. Jack, himself, said, “I initially thought that
it could get on the market in 1-2 years however I’ve learned so much over the
course of this journey and realized that it will in reality take a lot longer
than this.”
After just finishing The Genome War, it is interesting to
compare the work of different researchers. Being only 15-years-old, Jack hadn’t
been introduced to the real world of science – politics, patents, and pressure
included. He was just a gifted kid who had an idea to improve science and
medicine. I think we need more of those
kind of people – the people who do research simply because they love science.
“He’s the Edison of our times” – Anirban Maitra, Jack’s mentor and a Johns Hopkins researcher
 |
| Jack Andraka at the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. |
1. Cossins, Dan. "The Cancer Test
Kid." The Scientist. 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
2. Herper, Matthew. "Why Biotech
Wiz Kid Jack Andraka Is Not on the Forbes 30 Under
30
List." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
3. Tucker, Abigail. "Jack
Andraka, the Teen Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer. "Smithsonian.
Dec. 2012. Web. 18
Feb. 2016.
After reading your post I am inspired to go out and find new ideas to research. I think it's amazing that Jack could develop such a life saving device at such a young age. I understand where Church is coming from, but I think instead of criticizing Jack he should offer support. I enjoyed reading your post very much.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to think that a 15 year old did this. When I was 15, I was simply trying to pass my biology test, not out creating a revolutionary test for cancer. It is inspirational to hear stories like this and wonder what other discoveries are out there to be made and developed.
ReplyDeleteI am compelled to research new ideas in approaching cancer after reading your post! It is awesome that Jack proposed a way to help pancreatic cancer patients at the young age of 15. With preliminary research proposal, there are always some kinks to work out. George Church, instead of stating that there are some discrepancies in Jack's proposal, should commend Jack on finding a plausible method of saving the lives of many people. Jack's story is very inspirational and I'm very interested to see how his research turns out.
ReplyDeleteI actually forgot the name of this kid a while back when I first saw him on the world news. I was fascinated by the work that he had done (I was also scolded by my parents for not thinking of it myself. That's a story for another time though!) Although my parents were joking, they also knew how significant this was. My dad was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes about ten years ago and that is one of his fears today. Tests like these from intelligent people like Jack are the hope that people like dad need for their own future. Thanks for the rad post!
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm eighteen years old and I could never imagine doing any of that as a fifteen year old. However, his relation to the cancer obviously drove him to his researching and finds. That is truly amazing, as it shows how much drive someone can have especially at that age. What an amazing thing to be able to say you've done by the age of fifteen. He truly changed the world for the better and helped many people around the world. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that this kid found a mentor that was willing to support his endeavors and provide guidance. Many kids today don't reach their full potential due to a lack of investment from the more experienced adults around them. The current attitude held by many schools is that children should advance through their educations at the same pace and only learn the assigned curriculum. We should encourage more independent thinkers like Jack to push beyond expectations.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing what a gifted person can do with a little knowledge and a motivation based on personal experience and interest. I am sure that many amazing discoveries have been made in the past like this and will be in the future. This personal motivation, hard work, and creativity makes progress possible. It is extraordinary that someone so young without much experience can make such a difference.
ReplyDelete