In October 2023, a rising 10th-grader from Woodson High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, Heman Bekele made history.
He was crowned the winner of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a prestigious title that came with a $25,000 prize. He competed against nine other finalists, and his groundbreaking invention was a soap with the potential to treat and prevent multiple forms of skin cancer.
The 15-year-old scientist has now been recognised as the 2024 Kid of the Year by Time magazine and Time for Kids. The teenager, born of Ethiopian parents in Ethiopia now a US citizen from Fairfax, Virginia, USA, was chosen for his invention that is reputed to be a “more accessible way to deliver medication to treat skin cancers, including melanoma.
He told CNN that he never expected to be so recognized. ”I’m really passionate about skin cancer research. Whether it’s my own research or what’s happening in the field. It’s absolutely incredible to think that one day my bar of soap will be able to make a direct impact on somebody else’s life. That’s the reason I started this all in the first place”.
TIME magazine said Heman’s “ambition” and “selflessness” earned him the recognition. Even before his 7th birthday, Heman had already transformed his bedroom into a makeshift laboratory. For three years, he’d been mixing together whatever household chemicals he could find—dish soap, laundry detergent, the works—and observing the often unpredictable results.
Born in Addis Ababa, Heman recalls watching labourers toil unprotected, their skin exposed to the relentless rays. His parents instilled in him and his siblings the importance of sun protection.
It wasn’t until his family moved to the United States that Heman fully grasped the magnitude of the problem. The prevalence of skin cancer in the US ignited a spark of curiosity within him. How could he make a difference? The answer came in the form of imiquimod, a drug with potential against multiple skin cancers. Inspired by the idea of accessible and affordable treatment, Heman envisioned a soap as a novel delivery system for this medication.
Skin cancer is an alarmingly common and costly disease with annual treatment costs reaching $8.1 billion in the US. Inspired by this urgent health crisis, Heman developed his innovative, affordable soap solution that could revolutionize skin cancer treatment. His extraordinary achievements have earned him widespread recognition, including the prestigious TIME Kid of the Year honour. His mentor, 3M engineer Deborah Isabelle, praised his character and intellect.
“Heman is an exceptional young man with a compassionate heart. His invention has the potential to make a profound impact on countless lives.” He follows in the footsteps of Gitanjali Rao, another 3M Young Scientist Challenge winner who was named America’s Top Young Scientist in 2017.
