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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><h1><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";font-weight:normal'>I saw this young man on a morning news show and I must say, remarkable doesn’t even begin to describe him.<o:p></o:p></span></h1><h1><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";font-weight:normal'>Rose Huskey<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><img width=12 height=14 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D05B3B.5DC40570" alt="Changes must be reviewed before being displayed on this page."><img width=22 height=16 id=mw-fr-revisiontoggle src="cid:image002.png@01D05B3B.5DC40570" alt="show/hide details"></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#pc1" title=""All edits by unregistered and new users are subject to review" "><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue;display:none;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=20 height=20 id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image003.png@01D05B3B.5DC40570" alt="Page protected with pending changes level 1"></span></a><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;display:none'><o:p></o:p></span></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellpadding=0 width=352 style='width:264.0pt'><tr><td colspan=2 style='padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span class=fn><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Jack Andraka</span></b></span><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan=2 style='padding:.75pt .75pt 6.0pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jack_Andraka_2013.jpg"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=220 height=188 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D05B3B.5DC40570" alt="Jack Andraka 2013.jpg"></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Andraka in 2013<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:2.7pt 6.0pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:13.2pt'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Born<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style='padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:15.6pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Jack Thomas Andraka<br>January 8, 1997 <span class=noprint>(age 18)</span><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crownsville,_Maryland" title="Crownsville, Maryland"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Crownsville, Maryland</span></a>, U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:2.7pt 6.0pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:13.2pt'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Residence<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style='padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:15.6pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>United States<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:2.7pt 6.0pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:13.2pt'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Nationality<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style='padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:15.6pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>American<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:2.7pt 6.0pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:13.2pt'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Fields<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style='padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:15.6pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_research" title="Cancer research"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Cancer research</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_research" title="Medical research"><span style='text-decoration:none'>medical research</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention" title=Invention><span style='text-decoration:none'>invention</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan=2 style='padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:15.6pt'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Website</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br><span class=url><a href="http://jackandraka.net"><span style='text-decoration:none'>jackandrak</span><span style='text-decoration:none'>a</span><span style='text-decoration:none'>.net</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table><p><b><span lang=EN style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Jack Thomas Andraka</span></b><span lang=EN style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> (born January 8, 1997) is an American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventor" title=Inventor><span style='text-decoration:none'>inventor</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientist" title=Scientist><span style='text-decoration:none'>scientist</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_researcher" title="Cancer researcher"><span style='text-decoration:none'>cancer researcher</span></a>. He is known for his work in developing a new, rapid, inexpensive, and patent pending<sup id="cite_ref-BBC_1-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-BBC-1"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[1]</span></a></sup> method to detect an increase of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein" title=Protein><span style='text-decoration:none'>protein</span></a> that indicates the presence of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreatic_cancer" title="Pancreatic cancer"><span style='text-decoration:none'>pancreatic</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarian_cancer" title="Ovarian cancer"><span style='text-decoration:none'>ovarian</span></a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung_cancer" title="Lung cancer"><span style='text-decoration:none'>lung cancer</span></a> during their early stages. On December 12, 2014, Andraka announced that he would be attending <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University" title="Stanford University"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Stanford University</span></a> as a member of the Class of 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3><span class=mw-headline><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Research and experimentation</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h3><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><img border=0 width=220 height=123 id="Picture_x0020_9" src="cid:image005.jpg@01D05B3B.5DC40570" alt="File:Jack Andraka - Detecting pancreatic cancer at 15.webm"></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Jack_Andraka_-_Detecting_pancreatic_cancer_at_15.webm" target=new title="Play media"><span class=mw-tmh-playtext><span style='color:blue;text-decoration:none'>Play media</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Andraka talks about his work<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Andraka cultured MIA PaCa cells, from a commercial pancreatic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinoma" title=Carcinoma><span style='text-decoration:none'>carcinoma</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_culture" title="Cell culture"><span style='text-decoration:none'>cell line</span></a>, which overexpress <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesothelin" title=Mesothelin><span style='text-decoration:none'>mesothelin</span></a>, a biomarker<sup id="cite_ref-Argani_2-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Argani-2"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[2]</span></a></sup> for ovarian, lung and pancreatic cancers. The mesothelin was isolated, concentrated and quantified with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELISA" title=ELISA><span style='text-decoration:none'>ELISA</span></a>.<sup id="cite_ref-SFS_3-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-SFS-3"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[3]</span></a></sup> After optimization with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Blot" title="Western Blot"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Western Blot</span></a> assay, the human mesothelin-specific <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody" title=Antibody><span style='text-decoration:none'>antibodies</span></a> were mixed with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-walled_carbon_nanotubes" title="Single-walled carbon nanotubes"><span style='text-decoration:none'>single-walled carbon nanotubes</span></a> and used to coat strips of ordinary filter paper. This made the paper conductive. The optimal layering was determined using a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanning_electron_microscope" title="Scanning electron microscope"><span style='text-decoration:none'>scanning electron microscope</span></a>. Cell media spiked with varying amounts of mesothelin were then tested against the paper biosensor and any change in the electrical potential of the sensor strip (due to the changing conductivity of the nanotubes) was measured, before and after each application. Specifically, what happened was this:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The antibodies would bind to the mesothelin and enlarge. These beefed-up molecules would spread the nanotubes farther apart, changing the electrical properties of the network: The more mesothelin present, the more antibodies would bind and grow big, and the weaker the electrical signal would become.<sup id="cite_ref-smithsonian_4-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-smithsonian-4"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[4]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dose%E2%80%93response_relationship" title="Dose–response relationship"><span style='text-decoration:none'>dose-response curve</span></a> was constructed with an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coefficient_of_determination" title="Coefficient of determination"><span style='text-decoration:none'>R<sup>2</sup></span></a> value of 0.9992. Mr. Andraka claimed that his tests on human blood serum obtained from both healthy people and patients with chronic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreatitis" title=Pancreatitis><span style='text-decoration:none'>pancreatitis</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreatic_cancer#Exocrine_pancreas_cancers" title="Pancreatic cancer"><span style='text-decoration:none'>pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia</span></a> (a precursor to pancreatic carcinoma), or pancreatic cancer showed a similar response. The sensor's limit of detection sensitivity was found to be 0.156 ng/mL; 10 ng/mL is considered the level of overexpression of mesothelin consistent with pancreatic cancer. Andraka claimed that his sensor costs $0.03 (compared to his estimation of $800 for a standard test<sup id="cite_ref-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-5"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[5]</span></a></sup>) and 10 tests can be performed per strip, taking 5 minutes each. According to him, the method is 168 times faster, 1/26,667th as expensive, and 400 times more sensitive than ELISA, and 25% to 50% more accurate than the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CA19-9" title=CA19-9><span style='text-decoration:none'>CA19-9</span></a> test.<sup id="cite_ref-SFS_3-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-SFS-3"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[3]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The result of the project was a new type of diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer using a paper sensor, similar to that of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes" title=Diabetes><span style='text-decoration:none'>diabetic</span></a> test strip. This strip tests for the level of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesothelin" title=Mesothelin><span style='text-decoration:none'>mesothelin</span></a>, a soluble cancer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomarker" title=Biomarker><span style='text-decoration:none'>biomarker</span></a> first described by Scholler and colleagues in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proceedings_of_the_National_Academy_of_Sciences_of_the_United_States_of_America" title="Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"><span style='text-decoration:none'>PNAS</span></a></i> in 1999,<sup id="cite_ref-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-6"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[6]</span></a></sup> to determine whether or not a patient has early-stage pancreatic cancer. The test is over 90 percent accurate in detecting the presence of mesothelin.<sup id="cite_ref-Intel_7-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Intel-7"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[7]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>He has patented his method of sensing pancreatic cancer and is communicating with companies about developing an over-the-counter test.<sup id="cite_ref-BBC_1-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-BBC-1"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[1]</span></a></sup> According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Desmond-Hellmann" title="Susan Desmond-Hellmann"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Susan Desmond-Hellmann</span></a>, oncologist and chancellor of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCSF" title=UCSF><span style='text-decoration:none'>UCSF</span></a>, any practical usefulness of the test remains to be seen. Much more testing, possibly over several years, is needed to demonstrate that the test can catch cases early and reliably enough.<sup id="cite_ref-FORBES_8-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-FORBES-8"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[8]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><h3><span class=mw-headline><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Criticism</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h3><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>A 2011 article published by Sharon et al.<sup id="cite_ref-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-9"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[9]</span></a></sup> refutes many of Andraka's claims about specificity of using mesothelin as a biomarker for pancreatic cancer. Specifically, the group showed that mesothelin serum levels in healthy donors were not statistically different from serum levels in pancreatic cancer patients. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Church" title="George M. Church"><span style='text-decoration:none'>George M. Church</span></a>, professor of genetics at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University" title="Harvard University"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Harvard University</span></a>, has raised concerns about the cost, speed, and sensitivity claims.<sup id="cite_ref-FORBES_8-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-FORBES-8"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[8]</span></a></sup> Furthermore, a carbon-nanotube based sensor similar to Andraka's was reported in 2009 (three years before Andraka won the Intel ISEF) by Wang et al.<sup id="cite_ref-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-10"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[10]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>While being an advocate for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access" title="Open access"><span style='text-decoration:none'>open access</span></a>, he was criticized at <a href="http://opencon2014.org/"><span style='text-decoration:none'>OpenCon 2014</span></a><sup id="cite_ref-opencon_11-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-opencon-11"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[11]</span></a></sup> for not publishing his discovery openly for anyone to use and build upon, and moreover filing a patent<sup id="cite_ref-BBC_1-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-BBC-1"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[1]</span></a></sup> for it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3><span class=mw-headline><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Background</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h3><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><img border=0 width=220 height=124 id="Picture_x0020_10" src="cid:image006.jpg@01D05B3B.5DC40570" alt="File:How Open Access Empowered a 16-Year-Old to Make Cancer Breakthrough.ogv"></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/How_Open_Access_Empowered_a_16-Year-Old_to_Make_Cancer_Breakthrough.ogv" target=new title="Play media"><span class=mw-tmh-playtext><span style='color:blue;text-decoration:none'>Play media</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Andraka in an interview with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Collins" title="Francis Collins"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Francis Collins</span></a> on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access" title="Open access"><span style='text-decoration:none'>open access</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Andraka found that one reason for the poor survival rate from pancreatic cancer was the lack of early detection and an effective screening method.<sup id="cite_ref-SFS_3-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-SFS-3"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[3]</span></a></sup> According to his account, his teenage optimism left him undeterred, and he went on to consult "a teenager's two best friends: Google and Wikipedia",<sup id="cite_ref-Internets_12-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Internets-12"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[12]</span></a></sup> also drawing upon content from YouTube.<sup id="cite_ref-Internets_II_13-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Internets_II-13"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[13]</span></a></sup> He began to think of various ways of detecting and preventing cancer growth and terminating the growth before the cancer cells become invasive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>In an interview with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC" title=BBC><span style='text-decoration:none'>BBC</span></a>, Andraka said the idea for his pancreatic cancer test came to him while he was in biology class at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_County_High_School" title="North County High School"><span style='text-decoration:none'>North County High School</span></a>, drawing on the class lesson about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibodies" title=Antibodies><span style='text-decoration:none'>antibodies</span></a> and the article on analytical methods using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotubes" title="Carbon nanotubes"><span style='text-decoration:none'>carbon nanotubes</span></a> he was surreptitiously reading in class at the time.<sup id="cite_ref-BBC_1-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-BBC-1"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[1]</span></a></sup> Afterward he followed up with more research on nanotubes and cancer biochemistry aided by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access" title="Open access"><span style='text-decoration:none'>free online scientific journals</span></a>. He then contacted 200 professors at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Hopkins_University" title="Johns Hopkins University"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Johns Hopkins University</span></a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institutes_of_Health" title="National Institutes of Health"><span style='text-decoration:none'>National Institutes of Health</span></a> with a plan, a budget, and a timeline for his project, hoping to receive laboratory help. He received 199 rejection emails before he got a positive reply from Anirban Maitra, Professor of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathology" title=Pathology><span style='text-decoration:none'>Pathology</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncology" title=Oncology><span style='text-decoration:none'>Oncology</span></a>, and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Hopkins_School_of_Medicine" title="Johns Hopkins School of Medicine"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Johns Hopkins School of Medicine</span></a>.<sup id="cite_ref-smithsonian_4-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-smithsonian-4"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[4]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><h3><span class=mw-headline><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Appearances</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h3><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>In October 2013, Andraka appeared as a guest on <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colbert_Report" title="The Colbert Report"><span style='text-decoration:none'>The Colbert Report</span></a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-14"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-14"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[14]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><h2><span class=mw-headline><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Personal life and family</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h2><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Jack Andraka was born in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crownsville,_Maryland" title="Crownsville, Maryland"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Crownsville, Maryland</span></a> and is of Polish ancestry.<sup id="cite_ref-15"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-15"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[15]</span></a></sup> He has given a number of accounts of what inspired him to work on pancreatic cancer, including the death of a family friend whom he described as almost an uncle.<sup id="cite_ref-WSJ_16-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-WSJ-16"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[16]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Burris-17"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[17]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-18"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[18]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-ABC-19"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[19]</span></a></sup> These various narratives have been told by him as recently as his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW7_cDU7Idk"><span style='text-decoration:none'>talk in TEDxNijmegen 2013</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Andraka has been openly gay since he was 13.<sup id="cite_ref-MW_20-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-MW-20"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[20]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-MW-20"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[20]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Newcivilrightsmovement-21"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[21]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-22"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[22]</span></a></sup> When asked to be interviewed about his sexual orientation, Andraka responded, "That sounds awesome! I’m openly gay and one of my biggest hopes is that I can help inspire other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT" title=LGBT><span style='text-decoration:none'>LGBT</span></a> youth to get involved in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEM_fields" title="STEM fields"><span style='text-decoration:none'>STEM</span></a> [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics]. I didn't have many [gay] role models [in science] besides <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing" title="Alan Turing"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Alan Turing</span></a>."<sup id="cite_ref-Newcivilrightsmovement_21-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Newcivilrightsmovement-21"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[21]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>He likes white-water kayaking and is a member of the National Junior Wildwater Team), folds origami, and enjoys watching <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glee_%28TV_series%29" title="Glee (TV series)"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Glee</span></a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bones_%28TV_series%29" title="Bones (TV series)"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Bones</span></a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-23"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-23"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[23]</span></a></sup> He notes: "I suppose I'd want [people] to know I'm not a complete nerd. I actually get out and stuff. I go kayaking. I'm not the creepy guy that wears big glasses and hides out in the corner."<sup id="cite_ref-MW_20-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-MW-20"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[20]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Andraka's father, Steve, is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_engineer" title="Civil engineer"><span style='text-decoration:none'>civil engineer</span></a> and his mother, Jane, is an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anesthetist" title=Anesthetist><span style='text-decoration:none'>anesthetist</span></a>. She told the <i>Sun</i> "... we're not a super-athletic family. We don't go to much football or baseball." "Instead we have a million [science] magazines [and] sit around the table and talk about how people came up with their ideas and what we would do differently."<sup id="cite_ref-24"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-24"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[24]</span></a></sup> Andraka's older brother, Luke, won $96,000 in prizes at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_International_Science_and_Engineering_Fair" title="Intel International Science and Engineering Fair"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Intel International Science and Engineering Fair</span></a> in 2010 with a project that examined how acid mine drainage affected the environment. In 2011, Luke won an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_and_student_activities_at_MIT#MIT_THINK_Competition" title="Traditions and student activities at MIT"><span style='text-decoration:none'>MIT THINK</span></a> Award which recognizes students whose science projects benefit their communities.<sup id="cite_ref-Burris_17-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Burris-17"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[17]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><h2><span class=mw-headline><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Awards and recognition</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h2><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>2012 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_E._Moore" title="Gordon E. Moore"><span style='text-decoration:none'>Gordon E. Moore</span></a> Award<sup id="cite_ref-Intel_7-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Intel-7"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[7]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Fourth-place, Chemistry.<sup id="cite_ref-Burris_17-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka#cite_note-Burris-17"><span style='text-decoration:none'>[</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p><span lang=EN style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>