Heman Bekele, the winner of 3M’s Young Scientist challenge in 2023, has been named TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year after spending the past year developing a bar of soap that could potentially treat skin cancer.
When he won the competition last October, Bekele was awarded a $25,000 grant for his innovative pitch to a panel of judges. He stated that the grant would help advance his research on the soap and contribute to his further education.
Bekele, who currently lives with his family a few miles Washington, D.C., in the neighboring State of Virginia, was born in Ethiopia. He lived in the East African country until age of four, when he emigrated to the U.S. with his family.
TIME cited Bekele’s ambition and selflessness as a reason for his recognition. “I am really passionate about skin-cancer research,” Heman told TIME. “Whether it’s my own research or what’s happening in the field, it’s absolutely incredible to think that one day my bar of soap will be able to make a direct impact on somebody else’s life.”
Growing up partially in Ethiopia, Bekele witnessed people working long hours under the hot sun, often with little to no protective clothing, and the memory stayed with him. After learning about the stark in skin cancer survival rates between Africa and The United States, he began thinking of ways to create an accessible, affordable, yet effective treatment.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, with an average annual treatment cost of $8.1 billion. Inspired by this costly and widespread health issue, Bekele developed an affordable soap solution that could improve skin cancer outcomes. Over the next five years, he hopes to refine this innovation and create a nonprofit organization to distribute the low-cost solution to communities in need.
“Skin cancer is also prevalent among people in developing countries,” said Bekele. “But the average cost is no less than $40,000. I was devastated by the idea of people having to choose between treatment and putting food on the table for their families.”
During his research, Bekele learned about ‘imiquimod’, a cream often used to treat skin cancer, and began developing a bar soap that could deliver the necessary drugs to patients. At just 14 years old, he created a skin cancer-treating soap that works by reactivating the skin’s dendritic cells, which helps boost the immune response to protect the skin.
Bekele is the second 3M Young Scientist Challenge winner to be honored by TIME. Gitanjali Rao, was named America’s Top Young Scientist in 2017 at the age of 11, invented ‘Tethys,’ a device that uses nanotechnology to test water for contaminants and deliver fast, accurate results.
The 3M Young Scientist Challenge is the nation’s premier middle school science competition, inviting students in grades five through eight to compete for an exclusive mentorship with a 3M scientist, a $25,000 grand prize, and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.”