5 days ago
Kornelia Wieczorek: TIME's Girls of the Year List
Growing up, Kornelia Wieczorek, 17, wasn't interested in the sciences. 'I was scared of biology,' she says. 'I don't even know why.'
It wasn't until a teacher showed her the many practical applications of biology that her love for the subject began to blossom. At the age of 10, she began taking classes at a nearby medical school and contributing to research labs. At 14, she and a friend co-created a biodegradable fertilizer using Rhizobium bacteria strains, that would promote seed growth without degrading soil. The invention—which she says could be cheaper than fertilizer on the market today—could be critical as the E.U. aims to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides in soil by 2030. Wieczorek hopes to conduct more detailed research on the fertilizer when she begins college, and has access to more advanced labs, next year.
These days, Wieczorek's working on a number of projects—from an app to detect and diagnose skin changes, to research on the use of stem cells in therapies for Parkinson's, to creating an oncology app for brachytherapy in partnership with one of the biggest oncology centers in Poland. She's considering pursuing a dual degree—studying neuroscience and medicine—but the past few months have held so many opportunities that it's hard to know what the future might hold. 'I'm not really sure what will happen half a year from now, but I hope to be an expert in what I'm interested in, because it's something I really like.'
She advises young scientists to wholeheartedly pursue the topics that interest them. 'Get as much knowledge as possible, and dare to incorporate it together, and to work on who you would like to be in the future.'
