Jack Andraka — 15-Year-Old Invents Cancer Test 100 Times More Sensitive & 28 Times Cheaper than Current Tests

Jack Andraka enjoys mountain biking, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and science. According to his Facebook page, he’s a fan of Beavis and Butthead, Family Guy and The Simpsons. Oh yeah—the 15-year-old also created a new diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer that is 28 times faster, 28 times less expensive and over 100 times more sensitive than the current diagnostic tests. And, in case that’s not impressive enough, the test also works for ovarian and lung cancer. His diagnostic test earned him first prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest pre-college science research competition (the photo is from the competition). I love Jack’s modesty. Interviewed before the fair, he said, “I’m incredibly excited. It’s like the Olympics of science fairs. It’s just amazing to be here—even if I don’t get a prize.” Well, Jack Andraka did win, receiving about $100,000 in prize money ($75,000 from the grand prize and over $25,000 from other smaller prizes). The high school freshman said he will put the money toward college tuition. After his uncle died of pancreatic cancer, Jack became interested in finding a better early-detection diagnostic test. Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer is usually detected too late to save the patient. Jack thought about the problem and came up with a plan and a budget. Jack contacted about 200 people at Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health about his plan. He got 197 rejection letters and then finally got an acceptance from Dr. Anirban Maitra, Professor of Pathology, Oncology and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. It’s at Maitra’s lab where Jack developed his test. Why did a 15-year-old beat out billion-dollar pharmaceutical companies with his diagnostic test? Perhaps as a young person with no experience, he hadn’t yet learned what everyone else in the industry “knew couldn’t be done.” Certainly, it was in no small part because Anirban Maitra gave him a chance. Not to mention that Jack had an idea and went out and gave it a try. Think about Jack Andraka the next time you hear that something can’t be done, someone asks you to help out with his project or you’re hesitating to give one of your ideas a shot. Also, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need a giant team, billions of dollars in resources or even more than 15 years of life experience to do something amazing. The results of Jack’s diagnostic test were published on the Society for Science and the Public web site.