A 14-year-old in Texas and a 15-year-old in Massachusetts are making headlines for their incredible efforts using science and data to track the spread of COVID-19 in schools—and develop a treatment for the novel coronavirus.
Anika Chebrolu (Illustration by The Lily) 
William Wu (Washington Post)
Anika Chebrolu Discovers Molecule That Can Inhibit COVID-19 Infection
In October, Texas high school freshman, 14-year-old Anika Chebrolu, won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge for her discovery of a molecule that can selectively bind to the Spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibit its ability to infect people. After suffering a severe influenza infection in 2019, Anika was motivated to find a cure for the flu, and she pivoted her efforts to fighting the novel coronavirus when the pandemic hit in early 2020.
Anika was still in the eighth grade when she submitted her entry to the nationwide student competition (In-Silico Molecular Docking Study of Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2 Virus to Develop Novel Antiviral Drug), and she was one of ten finalists who presented their innovations in an interactive virtual competition. Her grand prize win includes a $25,000 cash prize, the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist”, and getting to ring the New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell in a virtual event.
As summarized in a press release from Business Wire:
In her study, Anika discovered a molecule that can selectively bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2. Binding and inhibiting this viral protein would potentially stop the virus entry into the cell, creating a viable drug target. In her research, Anika screened millions of small molecules for drug-likeness properties, ADMET properties, and binding affinities against the spike protein using numerous software tools. The one molecule with the best pharmacological and biological activity towards the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was chosen as the lead molecule that can be a potential drug for the effective treatment of COVID-19.
Read Anika Chebrolu’s interview with The Lily, and watch her original project submission video here.
William Wu Creates a Website to Track the Spread of COVID-19 in Schools
Meanwhile in Massachusetts, 15-year-old William Wu has developed the Covid-19 School Tracker to track the spread of COVID-19 in schools by using data provided each state’s Department of Health or Department of Education. In the spring, William and his sister, Athena, raised more than $2,500 for UMass Memorial to help the hospital provide PPE. William was emboldened by the fundraiser’s success and excited to start a new project that would help others, this time by compiling data on the novel coronavirus in schools.
William’s website (www.covidschooltracker.com) now contains data on K-12 school infections in 29 states, as well as college infection rates in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, and South Dakota. Not every state has made this data publicly available, and without a unified federal response, each state has its own methodology for reporting cases linked to schools—updating either daily or weekly. William’s goal is to make the (often inaccessible) data easy to find, and he hopes that as the website grows, he can provide school infection data for all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories.
Thank you, Anika and William, for your efforts to fight COVID-19—and for being Super Awesome™!