History was made when Heman Bekele, a 15-year-old from from Ethiopia was named TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year.
Reason for his recognition? It is for his innovative work on a soap designed to treat and potentially prevent skin cancer, including melanoma.
Inspired by his childhood observations of laborers working under the harsh sun in Ethiopia, Bekele aimed to create an affordable and accessible treatment.
His soap, called Skin Cancer Treating Soap (SCTS), incorporates imiquimod, a drug approved for treating certain skin cancers, delivered via lipid-based nanoparticles to ensure the drug remains effective on the skin after rinsing.
The soap also contains ingredients like salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and tretinoin to exfoliate and promote skin renewal, aiming to boost the immune response against melanoma.
Bekele’s invention, which costs about $0.50 per bar, addresses the high cost of traditional skin cancer treatments, which can reach $40,000.
His journey began with early experiments at age seven, mixing household chemicals, and progressed to winning the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge, earning a $25,000 prize.
He is currently testing the soap at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, collaborating with molecular biologist Vito Rebecca on mouse trials, with the goal of obtaining FDA approval—a process that could take a decade.
Bekele plans to establish a nonprofit by 2028 to distribute the soap equitably, particularly to underserved communities. His work has been praised for its potential to revolutionize skin cancer treatment, though it remains in the experimental stage and is not yet commercially available.