Meet Iris Shen, 17, who tested blood cancer drugs in clams and won $150,000
A talented teen from Texas, Iris Shen, has triumphed in a renowned science contest with her groundbreaking research. By investigating a potential cancer treatment using clams, she discovered that these creatures exhibit effects akin to human cells. Her innovative work highlights marine bivalves as a viable and ethical alternative for animal testing, directly tackling the pressing ethical and…
Seventeen-year-old Iris Shen, from Woodlands, Texas, emerged victorious in the Regeneron Science Talent Search with a $150,000 prize. Shen explored the potential of using clams as a model to study blood cancer and test human leukaemia drugs. She discovered that in clams, the drug exhibited the same inhibitory effect on cancer cells as it does in human cells.
Furthermore, she tested a combination of two other compounds, which slowed tumour growth without harming non-tumour cells. Shen's clam model has the potential to make early drug discovery more cost-effective and ethical, as she could identify the overlap of BCL-2 family proteins between clams and humans, which are known targets for cancer therapies.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
