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| Name: |
Parth Thakker |
| Age: |
18 |
| Location: |
Charlotte, NC |
| The Innovation: |
A quick and inexpensive point-of-care diagnostic tool for intestinal worms |
| Brief Bio: |
| Parth Thakker is currently a freshman at Harvard College from Charlotte, NC. He previously attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics where he served as student body president, was very active in pursuing scientific research and entrepreneurship, and formerly served as a cadet in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. He is the founder of AirCOM, a venture that strived to prototype a personal air quality detector and a companion mobile app that could aggregate crowdsourced data; in 2013, he led his team of entrepreneurs to win the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge, earning $10k in funding. Parth has also conducted significant research on the development and optimization of biocompatible quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) and was named a Finalist in the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search for his work. |
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| Developments: |
Parth is interested in using innovative technologies to help address problems in South Asia. From working to improve hygeine and healthcare accessibility, to striving to eliminate social predjudices and educational disparities, he hopes to harness the power of modern computing and mobile communications to facilitate positive changes in the region. Parth most recently worked as part of a team that aimed to market a quick and inexpensive point-of-care diagnostic tool for intestinal worms. The introduction of this diagnostic tool could help make deworming treatment more prevalent and accessible for thousands of people suffering from parasitic symptoms, while also reducing the need to “mass-deworm” children who are not in fact infected. Looking to 2015, Parth is interested in exploring several ideas, ranging from an air-quality detection system tailored to South Asian cities to an online platform that could directly connect Dharavi (slum) artisans to consumers abroad. Altogether, he hopes to draw on his background in science as well as his experiences in the region in order to innovate within this context — and have a meaningful impact on those in need. |
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