Meet this pair of North Bay teenagers working to cure cancer
Riley Geisler, Caleb Charette drawn to research because friend has Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Most teenagers's science fair projects usually involve plants, insects or a volcano, but two 15-year-olds from North Bay, Ont. are working to cure cancer.
Riley Geisler and Caleb Charette both attend West Ferris Secondary School in North Bay.
Their current project involves the use of enzymes that eliminate the specific 'bad' genes within cells that can cause cancer and other genetic disorders.
"This enzyme system can be sent into the body to help edit cells," Geisler told CBC's Up North host Jason Turnbull.
"Cancer is caused by different types of bad genes within your cells," Charette added. "So [the enzyme] could go in and like scissors, effectively cut out those bad genes."
The two acknowledged their research is "a bit above and beyond," what is normally taught in high school science class. The pair is hoping to attend the international science fair with their research.
Their work has a personal connection as well. During their time at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, a colleague and friend of theirs was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"That person was basically the glue to our team, the one that kind of held us all together and made our trip so, not only inspiring, but great," Geisler said.
It's a scenario that Charette said makes for some shock when others find out their age. Geisler added that their age alone disqualified them from working at a number of other institutions.
"McGill was really the only place that said, 'yeah, we'll endorse you guys and let you in' so age was definitely a factor," he said.
Geisler told Up North that he hopes to take the experience and his passion for medicine into a career as a neurologist, while Charette added that the ongoing search for knowledge keeps him focused.
"Being able to work with [new medical technology] is amazing because it's like the cutting edge of medicine and science," he said.
"It drives me to keep going."