Boys at The Scots College were recently inspired by American innovator and cancer researcher, Jack Andraka. The teen prodigy spent time at the College both presenting to the students and actively participating in Year 10 Science classes as part of his Australian tour.After a close family friend passed, Jack developed a new diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer at just 15 years old. His test uses a small paper strip that uses minute changes in conductivity to show the presence of targeted viruses, and is cheaper and faster than standard diagnostic testing. Jack won the grand prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for his discovery.

This was three years ago, since then Jack has gone on to host TED talks, has worked with Barack Obama, written a memoir, and is now a student at Stanford University, where he has up to 30 undergraduates working for him. He is currently touring Australia where he will be attending the Melbourne and Brisbane Writers Festivals to promote his recent memoir Breakthrough and to share his inspiring ideas and life story.

During his presentation at Scots, Jack described how painstakingly researched 8,000 proteins before finding the exact one to be used as a biomarker. He then joined Year 10 Science Honours students to make electrochemical galvanic cells.

“Jack Andraka possesses many of the attributes we encourage in our students. His creativity, passion, hard work, and commitment to excellence have seen his dreams become a reality. It is a wonderful opportunity for our boys to gain inspiration from a peer. Anything is possible”, said Dr Lambert, Principal at The Scots College.