Two Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) students, Nyambura Sallinen of Lanier High School and Keshvee Sekhda of North Gwinnett High School are finalists in the National Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge. They qualified for the competition after submitting their project, “IdentiCan: The App That Detects Breast, Lung, and Skin Cancer,” in the Gwinnett Regional Science, Engineering + Innovation Fair last year as 8th graders. This is the highest Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) honor in the nation that students can earn for a project done in middle school. IdentiCan was selected from a pool of more than 2,000 projects representing the top 10% of regional or state science fairs nationwide.

Nyambura and Keshvee are the first-ever GCPS students to qualify as finalists for the national competition. Jessica Holden, GCPS’ Director of Science-Secondary Education, is proud of them. “Having two students advance to this level of national recognition and competition is certainly a testament to their outstanding talents and vision,” Mrs. Holden explains. “These students were inspired to solve a problem facing our community with the support and inspiration of their teachers and the greater Gwinnett STEM community through the science fair process.”

The mobile app prototype created by the students identifies breast, lung, and skin cancer by using an algorithm that scans over 8,000 photos, health scan images of each cancer type, and audio clips for lung cancer identification. It also considers family history, medical history, and other relevant health information. The students say in simulations, “IdentiCan” accurately identified cancer 94.3% of the time. Their vision is to collaborate with medical professionals for further refinement and testing.

Thermo Fisher presented Nyambura and Keshvee with a cash award of $500 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they had the opportunity to defend their project in front of other finalists, leading scientists, and engineers from across the United States during ‘Finals Week,’ known as the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC). During the competition, the 30 finalists participated in team STEM challenges that tested their critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity through project-based learning. They also competed for more than $100,000 in awards and scholarships, including the $25,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific ASCEND (Aspiring Scientists Cultivating Exciting New Discoveries) Award. Keshvee was awarded the $10,000 Broadcom Coding with Commitment™ Award for combining coding with STEM knowledge to create a solution that improves one's community and aligns with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. 

“The accomplishment of these students reflects the high quality of STEM education and opportunities Gwinnett County Public Schools provides, showing that GCPS students are well equipped to take on global challenges and have their ideas elevated to the highest level,” Mrs. Holden shares.