Teenager leads discovery in finding COVID-19 cure
<p>Scientists across the globe are on a race to find a treatment for COVID-19, however the standout in all of this is a teenage girl. </p>
<p>Anika Chebrolu, a 14-year-old from Frisco, Texas, has just won the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge and a whopping A$35,230 prize for a discovery that could give a potential therapy to COVID-19.</p>
<p>Anika's invention that won the prize uses in-silico methodology to uncover a lead molecule that can bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.</p>
<p>The teen submitted her project while she was in the 8th grade, but she admitted her goal was not initially to find a cure for COVID-19. </p>
<p>Her original intention was to use in-silico methods to identify a lead compound that could bind to a protein of the influenza virus. </p>
<p>"After spending so much time researching about pandemics, viruses and drug discovery, it was crazy to think that I was actually living through something like this," Anika said.</p>
<p>"Because of the immense severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the drastic impact it had made on the world in such a short time, I, with the help of my mentor, changed directions to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus."</p>
<p>Anika revealed she was inspired to find potential cures to viruses after learning about the 1918 flu pandemic. </p>
<p>"Anika has an inquisitive mind and used her curiosity to ask questions about a vaccine for COVID-19," Dr Cindy Moss, a judge for the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, told CNN.</p>
<p>"Her work was comprehensive and examined numerous databases. She also developed an understanding of the innovation process and is a masterful communicator. Her willingness to use her time and talent to help make the world a better place gives us all hope."</p>
<p>Anika said winning the prize and title of top young scientist is an honour, but her work is not completed. </p>
<p>Her next goal is to research and work alongside scientists and researchers who are fighting to "control the morbidity and mortality" of the pandemic. </p>
<p>She will aid in developing her findings into an actual cure for the virus.</p>
<p>"My effort to find a lead compound to bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus this summer may appear to be a drop in the ocean, but still adds to all these efforts," she said.</p>
<p>"How I develop this molecule further with the help of virologists and drug development specialists will determine the success of these efforts."</p>
<p><em>Image Credit: NIAID-RML (AP/NIAID-RML)</em></p>
