B’luru girl Sia wins Breakthrough Junior Challenge $ 400000 Prize for cellular age reversal video

Sia Godhika, a 17-year-old young girl from the IT City Bengaluru has been awarded the Breakthrough Junior Challenge 2023 for her video “Yamanaka Factors” explaining the discoveries made by 2013 Breakthrough Prize winner and Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka on cellular programming. Yamanaka identified gene transcription factors that restore the adult cells to their original youthful, undifferentiated state. Yamanaka's discovery of these induced pluripotent stem cells has profound implications for the treatment of degenerative diseases. 

Sia’s video was based on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells that "Turn Back the Clock". "This is such an unbelievable honor, and I am so grateful. The process was a long one. It started in February. It was an exciting journey where I learned a lot of new things and concepts," said Sia.

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is also known as the 'Oscars of Science'. The challenge is part of Breakthrough prizes founded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, his wife Priscilla Chan, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, his wife Julia, and US entrepreneur Anne Wojcicki. Through this ninth annual Breakthrough Jr. Challenge, a total of 4 lakh dollars in educational prizes, i.e., 2 lakh 50 thousand dollars will be given to Sia’s scholarship, her science teacher Arka Moulik will receive 50000 dollars, and her school Neev Academy will get 1 lakh dollars science lab designed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Sia will be conferred at a ceremony in Los Angeles this year.

In the video, dramatizing how Yamanaka’s induced pluripotent stem cell technology can “turn back time” on cells, Sia played an elderly woman (in the award-winning video) who sheds her age and becomes young again. Talking about where the initial idea germinated for the unusual award-winning video, Sia said, “I was inspired by my grandparents struggling with cancer and neurological issues.  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 read through journals, articles, and watched videos on the science of cellular age reversal. Simultaneously I was creatively writing scripts, directing scenes and sets.” She further said, “I am determined to do research that can make this a reality of reversing cellular aging.” Recalling the moment of creating the video scene  Sia said, “I went to my grandparents’ house, used coconut, buckets, screws, hammers and muddied sheets to create the mountain depicting the Waddington model- stem cells at the top and roll down from the mountain.”

It is to be noted that the challenge was a global science video competition crafted to motivate innovative ideas, thinking, and communication skills around fundamental concepts in the life sciences, physics, and mathematics. This time over 2400 students submitted videos by June 25th, 2023. After two rounds of judging the field was narrowed to 30 semi-finalists and later the platform was open for public voting among these semi-finalists on the Breakthrough Prize FB page. In the end, 15 finalists' videos were reviewed by the selection committee comprising scientists from US universities, national aeronautics, and space administration aside from Pete Worden, chairman of Breakthrough Prize Foundation and executive director of Breakthrough initiatives.