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Bengaluru student wins Breakthrough Junior Challenge
Godika will be honored alongside the 2024 Breakthrough Prize laureates at a ceremony in Los Angeles this spring
Sia Godika / Image: The Diana Award website
Sia Godika has emerged as the winner of the ninth annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge, global science video competition for high-school students founded in 2015 by Julia and Yuri Milner.
17-year-old Godika, a senior at Neev Academy, an international school in Bengaluru plans to study at a US-based university after graduating high school this year. She will receive a US$ 250,000 college scholarship.
Additionally her teacher, Arka Moulik, will receive US$ 50,000 as part of the prize. The reward also includes a state-of-the-art science lab worth US$ 100,000 for the school, designed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
In her winning work titled 'Yamanaka factors', Godika explored the discoveries of the 2013 Breakthrough Prize and Nobel Prize winner, Shinya Yamanaka. The Japanese researcher identified gene transcription factors that "turn back the clock" on adult cells and restore them to their original youthful, undifferentiated state.
His discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells has implications for the treatment of degenerative diseases. In her presentation, Godika appears as an elderly woman who sheds her age to become an exuberant teenager once again.
Yamanaka also congratulated Godika on her accomplishment, noting, "It is exciting to see a talented young student finding out about my work and explaining it to others in such a clear and creative way. My congratulations to Sia, and I hope she continues her.”
Accepting the recognition, she said, "This is such an unbelievable honor, and I am so grateful. My grandparents are battling cancer and age-related neurological disorders. I wanted to learn everything I could about the latest science to help in finding cures. Reversing cellular aging can proactively prevent several debilitating diseases. I am determined to contribute to research that can make this future a reality."
Breakthrough Prize co-founder Julia Milner congratulated Godika, saying, "Well done to Sia for her brilliant and dramatic film about one of the most promising discoveries in modern biology. I am excited that the Breakthrough Junior Challenge is reaching young people around the world, helping them to grow as scientists and share the wonders of science with their peers."
Godika will be honored alongside the 2024 Breakthrough Prize laureates at a ceremony in Los Angeles this spring, according to a statement.
The annual junior competition aims to develop and demonstrate knowledge of science and scientific principles and communications skills in the STEM fields thereby promoting career choices in the field.
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