A teenager from Virginia was recognized as Time magazine’s Kid of the Year 2024 because of his creation of soap that can potentially change skin cancer treatment. Heman Bekele, who has been referred to as a young scientist who will one day revolutionize how skin cancer is treated, was awarded for the invention of a soap that serves as a drug-eluting agent, particularly in the treatment of skin cancer such as melanoma.
This Time’s release separates Bekele’s approach as unique and valuable for handling a powerful problem. He said, “It is so amazing even to think that one day my bar of soap can directly affect the life of another person.” He drew inspiration from a young age, seeing the tanning on the skin of people working under the sun in Ethiopia, where he grew up with no access to sun protection.
On getting to the US, Bekele got a chemistry set for Christmas, and then his interest in chemical reactions and what they can do to health was born. It is for this interest that he learned of imiquimod, which, although accepted to treat some skin cancer types, Busbaum has modified to treat the early stage of the disease.
Realizing that soap is used almost all over the world, Bekele thought that maybe he could use it as the medium for delivering his treatment innovation. But, he also states that there is much more to do, much research, and even regulation before the medical community will look at what he has produced and approve it for human use—perhaps ten years? At the same time he is studying thoughts being a scientist, he also plays the marching band and enjoys chess.
