A Fairfax County teenager who invented an inexpensive soap that combats skin cancer has won a national contest for young scientists.
Heman Bekele, 14, a freshman at W.T. Woodson High School in Annandale, recently won the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge and took home $25,000 as “America’s Top Young Scientist.”
Heman immigrated from Ethiopia at age 4. He said seeing people working in the sun in Ethiopia motivated him to look for ways to fight skin cancer, adding that cancer survival rates in sub-Saharan Africa are far worse than in places with high-cost treatments.
“Skin cancer is mostly found on people who live within developing countries. But the average price for an operation is $40,000. I was devastated by the idea of people having to choose between treatment and putting food on the table for their families. There are so many preventable deaths,” Heman told Fairfax County Public Schools.
His soap costs 50 cents to make, and a pack of 20 bars costs only $8.50, FCPS said in a news release. Heman said he hopes to found a nonprofit that will distribute it to communities in need.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. and costs an average of $8.1 billion yearly.
Heman’s research led him to focus on the rejuvenation of dendritic cells, which help the body’s immune response. The soap combines three chemicals — salicylic acid, glycolic acid and tretinoin — to reactivate the cells, particularly those in the skin, FCPS said in its release.
“It’s supposed to help heal the skin internally, which will then show results externally because the skin cancer will slowly start to fade away,” Heman told AfroTech.com.
Other ingredients were necessary to ensure the soap stayed together, including shea butter, coconut oil and a 3M moisturizer and barrier cream. As a contest finalist this summer, Heman was aided by a 3M scientist to create the prototype.
“It was so difficult to get a bar of soap that didn’t just melt immediately. Persistence is a very important part of the scientific process,” the teenager told FCPS.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.