Jack Andraka was just a fifteen-year old Maryland high school sophomore when he invented an inexpensive early detection test for pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancers. After a close family friend died of pancreatic cancer, Andraka (then a ninth grader) became interested in finding a better early- detection diagnostic test. He learned that the lack of a rapid, low-cost early screening method contributed to the poor survival rate among individuals with pancreatic cancer.

After thinking further about the problem, he came up with a plan and a budget to put his ideas in motion. At the age of fifteen, he garnered international attention for his breakthrough—a three-cent paper strip capable of detecting early stages of pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancers. Still a teenager, Andraka’s groundbreaking results have earned him international recognition, most notably a 2014 Jefferson Award, the nation’s most prestigious public service award, 1st place winner in the 2014 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, a 2014 National Geographic Explorer grant, the 2012 Intel ISEF Gordon Moore Award, the 2012 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Youth Award, Advocate Magazine’s 40 under 40 award, and he’s also the 2014 State of Maryland winner of the Stockholm Water Prize.