(Image source from: americanbazaaronline.com)

An Indian American teenager Kavya Kopparapu has been conferred with the 2019 National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Education Award for her pioneering invention designed to advance treatments for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer.

The USD 10,000 award given by STEM Education United States, recognizes the 19-year-old, of Herndon, Virginia, as an "extraordinarily talented and accomplished" individual "who has meaningfully promoted STEM education", according to American Bazaar report on Saturday.

A freshman at Harvard University studying biology and computer science, the promising scientist has invented GlioVision, a precision medicine platform powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that predicts brain tumor attributes in a fraction of the time and cost of long-established methods by using a scanned image of a biopsy rather than a DNA sample.

It is a crucial step to targeted treatment for patients with cancer which uses a profound learning computer system to find out the molecular and genetic signature of a brain tumor with 100 percent accuracy.

Kavya has been recognized for her applaudable endeavors to battle a rare but deadly disease, and to motivate others to pursue their expertise in STEM-related fields.

An experienced speaker, she has delivered talks at the Smithsonian Institution, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Kennedy Space Centre, and took part in several AI conferences.

-Sowmya Sangam