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Ashorn Mahenthiran (Ash) is going to be a sophomore at North Central this upcoming school year, and what sets him apart from the pack, is that he is published at age 14 …. the youngest in the history of the American Society of Clinical Oncology!
Ash was notified this past spring by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) that his research work titled “The Therapeutic Effects of Vitamin C on Lung Cancer Cells,” had been published in conjunction with the organization’s 2013 Annual Meeting.
Ash originally thought of researching the topic as a 7th grade student at The Sycamore School in Indianapolis. “I was researching a science project idea, and was interested in medicine,” says Ash. “I contacted my uncle, Sitta Sittampalam, who is an established scientist in the field of oncology cell research, and asked if I could test my theory at his lab under his supervision at the University of Kansas. After conducting the study, I decided to attempt to submit my findings to the ASCO, as the experiment findings were interesting to me and possibly would be of interest to other researchers in the field.”
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world’s leading professional organization representing physicians who care for people with cancer. With more than 30,000 members, ASCO is committed to improving cancer care through scientific meetings, educational programs and peer-reviewed journals. The annual meeting, where Ash’s abstract (a general overview of the procedures and results of the actual experiment) is conducted every year to share up to date information and educate peers and set guidelines in the field of oncology. At the last annual meeting over 5,000 abstracts were submitted with just over 2,000 selected for publication. It is prestigious for Ash to be published in this forum at the age of 14, since the meeting is intended for licensed researchers and physicians.
Ashorne Mahenthiran is a high performer in his class at North Central and is taking advanced science classes. As a freshman last year he was involved in Brain Game, Quiz Bowl, the IMPACT Ghana Club, and played for the North Central Tennis Team. Ash intends to be an oncologist in the future and pursue possible adjuvant therapies and cures for various forms of cancer through research. Ash concludes, “The ASCO publication has motivated me to continue research in the field of oncology.”
Congratulations Ash! Your school district is proud of you!
Read Ashorn’s complete abstract here:
