With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, a 14-year-old from Texas has won a national science competition for identifying a molecule that will bind to the virus and potentially disable it.
Anika Chebrolu, who hails from Frisco, used computer modeling to go looking for a compound that binds tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein — a structure that juts off the coronavirus surface and plugs into human cells to trigger infection.
In theory, such a compound should prevent the virus from infecting cells. When designing new antiviral drugs, scientists often perform computational studies, a bit like Chebrolu's, as a critical start.
For her impressive work, Chebrolu earned first prize within the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a US-based science competition for middle-school students.
Chebrolu signed up for the competition months ago while still in Gymnasium, with the initial intention of studying influenza, in step with a video interview with KTVT, a CBS-affiliate.
3M Young Scientist Challenge winner, Anika Chebrolu, featured on CNN's homepage! Congratulations to Anika! it absolutely was a fantastic year—hat's off to any or all of the finalists! #3MYSC #YoungScientist @3M @DiscoveryEd pic.twitter.com/knX5H6RNTS
"Because of the immense severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore the drastic impact it had made on the planet in such a brief time, I, with the assistance of my mentor, changed directions to focus on the SARS-CoV-2 virus," she told CNN.
"Her work was comprehensive and examined numerous databases," Cindy Moss, a judge for the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, told CNN.
"She also developed an understanding of the innovation process and may be a masterful communicator. Her willingness to use her time and talent to assist make the planet an improved place gives us all hope," added Moss, who is that the senior director of world STEM initiatives for Discovery Education, which runs the competition with 3M.
Chebrolu received a US$25,000 prize for winning this year's competition.
Identifying a molecule that binds to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, took tremendous work.
"I started with a database of over 698 million compounds," Chebrolu told KTVT.
She ran these many compounds through iterative screenings on the pc, to assess their binding ability, molecular structure, and drug-like characteristics, like how they might break down within the body and whether or not they may be toxic to cells.
Each screening narrowed her search until she was left with one lead compound that might bind to the coronavirus and keep it from infecting cells.
SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. (NIAID/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
In addition to her prize-winning coronavirus study, Chebrolu also completed an influenza study that she initially submitted to the competition. "I was drawn towards finding effective cures for influenza disease after a severe bout of the infection last year," she said during a statement on the competition website.
"From the initial 3 million compounds, i used to be able to narrow right down to one potential drug candidate" that selectively binds to and inhibits the influenza virus, she said in her video entry for the competition. Chebrolu told CNN that she aims to figure alongside scientists to develop her drug candidates into full-fledged medicines that help tame these viral infections.
"My effort to seek out a lead compound to bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus this summer may appear to be a call the ocean, but still adds to all or any these efforts," she told CNN. "How I develop this molecule further with the assistance of virologists and drug development specialists will determine the success of those efforts."
In 15 years, Chebrolu said she hopes to be a medical researcher and professor, per the competition website. In her spare time, she sketches and studies Bharatanatyam, a mode of Indian classical dance. "I describe myself as an individual who aspires to be plenty of things," Chebrolu told KTVT.
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