Indian American Anika Chebrolu, 14, wins $25,000 Prize for potential COVID-19 treatment

Washington, October 19: As scientists around the world race to find a treatment for the coronavirus, a 14-year-old Indian-American scientist Anika Chebrolu, developed an antiviral drug that could provide a potential therapy to Covid-19.

 

 

She also has won the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge and a $25,000 prize for a discovery that could provide a potential therapy to Covid-19. She also named Young Scientist of the Year.

She used in-silico methodology for drug discovery to find a molecule that can selectively bind to the Spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in an attempt to find a cure for the COVID-19 pandemic. They developed a molecule that can bind to a certain protein of the coronavirus and this protein by binding to it it will stop the function of the protein.

 

Anika used computer programs to see how a molecule could bind to a specific protein in the SARS COVID-2 virus and effectively inhibit the protein's function.

 

"After spending so much time researching about pandemics, viruses, and drug discovery, it was crazy to think that I was living through something like this," Anika said.

 

"Because of the immense severity of the Covid-19 pandemic and the drastic impact it had made on the world in such a short time, I, with the help of my mentor, changed directions to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

 

Her research wasn't always focused on the coronavirus however when the year began, she was working on ways to fight the seasonal flu. Her plans changed when the pandemic hit. To find a potential drug for the highly infectious virus, the 14-year-old used multiple computer programs to identify how and where the molecule would bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

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. Her invention is a discovery that could provide a potential therapy to Covid-19.

 

Anika, who hopes to be a medical researcher and professor one day, said that her grandfather inspired her interest in science.

 

Anika added that she was inspired to find potential cures to viruses after learning about the 1918 flu pandemic and finding out how many people die every year in the United States despite annual vaccinations and anti-influenza drugs on the market.