Dublin Student Vying For Likes In Science Challenge

DUBLIN, CA — A student who attends Quarry Lane School in Dublin wants you to see her video on cancer therapy — and she wants you to like it. Rhea Mitr, 16, is competing in the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, a global science video contest that saw 11,000 submissions and has now been whittled down to 30 semifinalists vying for $400,000 in prizes.

As one of the semifinalists who created three-minute long videos on wide-ranging topics from photosynthesis to gravitational waves, Rhea is among the best as determined by a review from the Breakthrough Junior Challenge Evaluation Panel. Now Rhea needs votes. The 30 student videos are posted on Facebook, and the general public can vote for a people’s choice winner between now and September 20.

See Rhea's video here or watch it below.

Since growing up, Rhea always heard the phrase “There is no answer to cancer” and refused to believe that. For her video submission, she focused in on cancer therapy using Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and was inspired by the head of her math department, Art Squillante, to take charge of her own education and go above and beyond by approaching tough topics and angles of studies.

In addition to the prizes, the grand-prize winner will appear alongside world renowned scientists on stage at the Breakthrough Awards ceremony in Palo Alto on Nov. 3.