Teen Spotlight: Krish Wadhwani: Relief Through Research
Though cures for conditions such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases seem far off, relief may be within reach, thanks to researchers like Krish Wadhwani. A senior at Denmark High School, he’s been involved in groundbreaking work that provides hope to people affected by these conditions.
Krish Wadhwani, revealing that his family’s experiences with battling dementia drew him towards research, says, “Due to being a firsthand witness, I felt obligated to ‘fight disease’ and get involved with dementia research. After experimenting and researching in my free time, I have found a genuine passion that I want to pursue academically.”
In 2018, Krish began his journey by submitting his idea for a biomedical science investigation to Discovery Education’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Krish became a finalist for the challenge and worked with his mentor Dr. Vasav Sahni, other 3Mers and drug delivery experts to develop an injection that would mitigate the symptoms of Huntington’s disease. The medication uses synthetic antibody mimics of antibodies that inhibit the neuromarkers associated with certain degenerative diseases. “We are aiming to create a therapy that induces immune-cell activated responses on drug targets in patients with Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s disease. We hope this can serve as a platform to revolutionize an era of synthetic and regenerative medicine,” Krish explains.
In 2019, Krish founded the nonprofit HD Solvera, which identifies unmet medical needs and provides relief by researching and developing healthcare technology, directly assisting healthcare centers, and fundraising for hospitals. “HD Solvera allows me to share my research with a larger audience,” Krish notes. “I can discuss with professionals in the field which of my treatments have the potential to work better for patients. It is through this platform that I have advanced projects which diagnose diseases and health problems.”
As the chairman and president of HD Solvera, Krish led a team of 30 volunteers to provide support to local hospitals in the early stages of the pandemic. HD Solvera’s volunteer team has continued their work of reading to patients, delivering treats, escorting elderly patients, and conducting diagnostic assessments. Collectively, the team has offered hundreds of hours of service.
HD Solvera has partnered with the National Institute of Health, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Emory and Johnson & Johnson. These partnerships have provided grants and access to advanced laboratory equipment so Krish and the HD Solvera team can continue their research into cancer and degenerative diseases. This institutional support enabled one of HD Solvera’s studies on synthetic mimics to receive high honors in the 2021 International Therapeutics Summit’s U.S. Southeast Division High School Competition.
Krish’s work has caught the attention of researchers and award committees. In the 46th Georgia Junior Science & Humanities Symposium, he won 2nd place in the Medicine & Health section. He also received the National Community Service Ambassador Award for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. Earlier this year, Krish was selected as a Carson Scholar and received a $1,000 scholarship from the Carson Scholars Fund, and he was named a Distinguished Finalist for the Prudential Spirit of Community Award.
All of this recognition has encouraged Krish to continue his good work. In fact, Krish hopes to expand HD Solvera’s horizons to research other forms of cancer and other degenerative diseases, and he plans on bringing more directors onto the HD Solvera board to guide the nonprofit’s bright future.
Bhavana Kunnath, a contributing writer for Khabar, is a student at Oglethorpe University. She can be reached at kunnathbhavana@gmail.com.
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