William “Will” Broomhead of Villa Hills, a student at Dixie Heights High School and the Kenton County Academies of Innovation and Technology, has been named a 2018 winner in the Emperor Science Award Program, sponsored by PBS and Stand Up To Cancer.
Broomhead
It is Broomhead’s second straight year to receive the award, which grants students across the country the chance to pursue research and careers in science, particularly in the fields of cancer research and care.
In a press release announcing this year’s 100 winners, chosen from nearly 600 applicants across the country, PBS singled Broomhead out as a rising star in the program, calling him a student who “exemplifies the passion for research and commitment to collaboration” so evident in the program recipients.
After surviving cancer himself – he had surgery to remove a synovial sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, from his back – Broomhead dedicated his future to becoming a pediatric oncology doctor and researcher. He used the $1,500 stipend from his 2017 Emperor Science Award to purchase and distribute 700 Foldscopes – an affordable, paper-based folding microscope with optical quality similar to a research microscope – to students in six schools. (He keeps in touch with the students and teachers via his “Foldscopes for Kentucky” Facebook page, where the group shares findings and discusses new topics for the students to research.)
Broomhead’s 2017 Emperor Science research centered on determining the genetic profile of cancer cell cultures in order to help develop targeted cancer treatments.
“Experiments fail and succeed every day. Cancer may be a big problem, but there are researchers who have chosen to be part of the solution and [who] are not accepting defeat,” Broomhead wrote in his application essay for this year’s award. “I have seen firsthand the benefits of cancer research, and I am choosing to help find a solution and be part of the team who discovers a cure for cancer.”
In all, four students from Kentucky were selected as Emperor Science Award recipients this year. In addition to Broomhead, Kentucky’s 2018 Emperor Science Award Program winners are:
- Kristi Mullins, Lick Creek, Ky.; East Ridge High School (Pike County Schools)
- Shivani Nellore, Prospect, Ky.; North Oldham High School
- Taylor Stumbo, East Point, Ky.; Paintsville Independent High School
As winners, they will be provided an opportunity to conduct cancer research in partnership with esteemed scientists, who will work as their mentors. They will also receive a Google Chromebook and a $1,500 stipend.
The annual award program is open to 10th- and 11th-grade students interested in cancer research. The full list of Emperor Science Award recipients is available at www.emperorscienceaward.com.
“At PBS, our goal is to spark a passion for learning and provide students and their educators with the resources and support they need for that learning,” said Sara Schapiro, vice president of PBS Education. “We’re proud to welcome a new class of students to the Emperor Science Award mentorship program. Not only are the students selected for this year’s class leaders in their schools and communities, they also demonstrate investigative curiosity as well as compassion for patients.”
The Emperor Science Award Program is made possible by financial support from Founding Donors Genentech, a member of the Roche Group; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; and Novartis.
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