Mapping his way to medical success with competition win
Sixth-former Soham Kale has won a national medical essay competition for a piece of writing that combined humour with a serious look at preventing disease.
Soham took joint first place in the Medic Mentor Magazine National Essay Competition with an essay investigating how mapping human cells could help doctors with both the early detection and the prevention of disease.
Headmaster Neil Enright is among many to have congratulated him on his success. “Soham has shown great originality and skill in putting together an essay that greatly impressed the judges. He aspires to be a doctor: I am sure that he will succeed in this ambition, and that a bright future awaits him in Medicine.”
Soham’s scrupulously referenced essay will be published in the spring edition of Mentor: the magazine produced by Medic Mentor, which is a national medical organisation dedicated to nurturing those who wish to become doctors. The edition will be themed under the heading Under the Microscope.
His writing answered the question How could the detailed mapping of human cells contribute to early disease detection and prevention efforts?
Thanking the judges, Year 12’s Soham said: “This has been such an incredible opportunity to explore the exciting prospects of cell-mapping to both current, and future healthcare. This couldn’t have been possible without all of the support that my inspirational teachers, friends and family have provided me with along the way. Progressing into the future, I will forever cherish this milestone.”
Human cell-mapping was, he said, a topic “completely alien” to him, but he soon got to grips with it, deriving “great satisfaction” as he learned the subject matter by initially “mind-mapping almost random information” and then quickly forming links to join up this information.
In the introduction to his essay, he gave the following example drawn from his daily life to illustrate the importance of such cell-mapping.
“My parents simply refused to use Google Maps when travelling, and then always ended up in the completely wrong place after taking the wrong exit on the motorway roundabout. Taunting them, saying ‘Using Google Maps wouldn’t have hurt’ felt good.
“Notice how my family and I could’ve ended up at two completely different places from the same roundabout? In the same way, the same biological pathway could lead to diseases ranging from schizophrenia to autism.
“All diseases are fundamentally mechanical problems at a genetic and molecular level, interacting with cells via an interconnected biological pathway.
“Cell-mapping (Google Maps) allows us to unravel these biological pathways (roads), creating opportunities for efficient, directed treatment so that my family doesn’t get lost again.”
The whole essay then adopted the language of satnav as Soham set out his argument, from “Proceed to the route” to the final line, “You have arrived at your destination!”
In announcing his victory, Medic Mentor quoted his conclusion, which highlighted the role of human cell-mapping. This has led to “significantly enhanced early disease detection” and to “improved patient outcomes both in the short term through potential earlier diagnosis, and in the long run through the provision of a wider variety of treatment options”, Soham wrote.
- Read Soham’s essay here.