Jack Andraka: MD teen who invented cancer test becomes national star

In 2012, now 16-year-old Jack Andraka won $75,000 at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair for developing an early-stage test for pancreatic cancer.
And while he insists he’s a normal high school student — he attends North County High School in Anne Arundel County — the celebrity he has garnered from his cancer test and his Intel prize has had him giving TED talks, sitting for interviews with “60 Minutes” and even mixing up glasses with former senator Hillary Clinton during a banquet.
The Baltimore Sun reports:

That a science award, rather than an Oscar or a Heisman, would and should be celebrated with that kind of glee soon had everyone from the TED talks to “The Colbert Report” inviting him to appear. The fact that he has been out as gay since he was 13 makes him even more intriguing, and while he doesn’t push it, he’s comfortable and happy to serve as a role model for kids who likely know few if any gay scientists.
But mostly, his public face is as a scientist, pure and simple. His timing is fortuitous, coming at a point when, as he says, “it’s cool to be a nerd.” He has been to the White House several times and sat with first lady Michelle Obama at a State of the Union address. He’s been featured in a short film by Morgan Spurlock and landed in some heady company on the conference-and-banquet circuit.

Read more about Andraka at the Baltimore Sun.