9 Incredible Kids Under 20 Who Have Contributed Amazing Things To Medicine

Our future being in the hands of our children may be the best thing we could ever do.  Perhaps the key to solving the world’s problems is in the mind of our young people.  This is why it is so important that we free the minds of our youth and give them the tools they need to create the technologies and innovate the systems that will heal this earth and make it a better place.

Making yourself known especially in the medical field is no easy task.  For these 9 kids accomplishing this rare task by the age of 20 is nothing short of extraordinary.  I have the feeling that we are at the very beginning of an incredible wave of innovation that is arising with the next generation.

1. Krtin Nithiyanandam, age 15

Krtin Nithiyanandam is only 15 and yet he has made a difference in the field of neuroscience. He was moved after hearing about the devastating effect that Alzheimer’s has on the patient, their family, and the caregivers.  He decided to work hard on creating an antibody that is able to enter your brain and attach to the specific proteins that show up during the first stage of the disease.  He is currently one of the finalists for the Google Science Fair.  

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2. Adeeb Al-Balushi, age 10

Adeeb Al-Balushi last year when he was only 9 decided to develop a waterproof prosthetic leg for his father so he would be able to go swimming with his son.  It only took Adeeb one day to complete the prosthetic leg.  Now he and his father are able to go to the beach together and swim.  This opens up a whole new world for those who need prosthetics.  He then followed the innovative new technology by entering the world of robotics and has created a robot that will help his mother clean.  

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3. Joshua Meier, age 18

Back at the age of 14 Joshua Meier was already working on his aging stem cell project.  When most kids are worried about what classes to take in high school or where they are going to sit at lunch Joshua was working on changing the world of stem cells.  His project has turned into a potential cancer treatment.  He just started his college career at Harvard University and plans to study computer science and biology in the hopes that he will be able to continue his research and possibly start treating cancer.

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4. Anthony Halmon, age 19

Anthony Halmon has some incredibly humble beginnings coming from Englewood Chicago where he spent a lot of his time dodging gangs and fights.  Unlike many men his age Halmon is putting the needs of his daughter before his own.  His daughter inspired him to create an incredible device that he calls a “Thermofier” which is a mix between a thermometer and a pacifier.  If you have ever been around kids you may know how hard it is to take their temperature.  This new device makes it easy and a lot less stressful for the child and their parents. 

The invention landed Halmon in a trip to the White House where he got to meet President Barack Obama and participate in the 3rd Annual White House Science Fair as well as a full scholarship to Cornell University.

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5. Samantha Marquez, age 18

When you are the daughter of a chemical engineer and a chemist it may have its perks but it also comes with high expectations.  Both Samantha and Michelle have far surpassed all expectations laid down by their parents.   What originally started off as simple science project ended up turning into a 3D cell structure that has the potential for both medication delivery and organ repair in the body.

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6. Michelle Marquez, age 15

Michelle decided to focus her recent research on a topic near and dear to her: music.  After seeing how the brain waves reacted to different types of sounds, the younger sister Michelle has figured out which sounds will trigger you negative and positive emotions.  This new tone awareness can be very valuable in the music, medical, and mental health fields.

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7. Tony Hansberry, age 20

Tony Hansberry made an incredible and surprising discovery  when it comes to people who receive a hysterectomy operation.  His discovery reduces the amount of people who end up with infections and suffer while they recover.  When he first made the discovery he was only 14 years old.  Hansberry discovered that if you perform a vertical stitch when you are suturing up a patient after a hysterectomy, instead of doing a horizontal one, there would be a significant reduction in the patient’s risk of getting an infection.  The supervising physician at UF has even nicknamed the new technique the “Hansberry stitch”. 

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8. Kenneth Shinozuka, age 15

Kenneth Shinozuka knows a lot about Alzheimer’s disease even though he is only 15.  Unfortunately, that is because his granddad suffers from this harsh condition.  He isn’t alone, however, 5.2 million Americans also suffer from Alzheimers disease.  Just like many who struggle with this disease Kenneth’s grandfather is prone to wandering away.  

This can cause a lot of problems and security concerns for his grandfather.  In order to help solve this problem, this 15-year-old from New York City has created a wireless system that can be inserted into a patient’s sock and it would alert the family if he began to wandered off again.  

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9. Jack Andraka, 17

Jack Andraka decided that the current method of detection for pancreatic cancer was too slow and expensive so he decided to do something about it.  During the majority of his freshman year in high school, he worked on creating a test that was cheaper, quicker and a much more sensitive way to diagnose patients.  With the help of a professor from Johns Hopkins Andraka was able to create a technology that is considered to be much more effective in detecting pancreatic cancers than the system we had in place before.

This new method got Andraka featured on TEDTalk and on The Colbert Report as well a $75,000 grand prize from the Intel ISEF back in 2012.

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I wonder what incredible new discovery we will hear about next.  The next few decades are going to be incredible.  Do you feel like this new generation is going to change this world for the better?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Sources: medicaldaily.com