Herbert Mason Hedberg's research may some day help prevent some kinds of cancer.

08:27 AM EST on Wednesday, March 17, 2004

BY MICHAEL P. McKINNEY
Journal Staff Writer

AP photo Herbert Mason Hedberg, 17, of North Attleboro, Mass., High School, displays his project in Washington Tuesday, which won top honors in the Intel Science Talent Search. Intel awarded Hedberg a $100,000 scholarship for developing a faster, more efficient method to diagnose cancer by screening inhibitors and ranking their potentcy as potential tumor suppressors.

The lengthy operations that Herbert Mason Hedberg's grandmother endured because of cancer set the young man on a course. So yesterday, as the North Attleboro High School student's cancer-research project won first prize in a prestigious national competition, he was grateful for many things.

His grandmother was in the audience last night in Washington, D.C., as he won the competition.

His $100,000 in scholarship money for winning the Intel Science Talent Search will send him to an eight-year premed/medical school program at Brown University.

Last night, the 17-year-old's dream seemed closer than ever. Some day, Hedberg said, he wants to work in an oncology clinic and become a physician-scientist. He has already applied for a patent for his winning project.

More than 1,500 high school seniors submit entries to the competition annually, which has been called the "junior Nobel Prize," according to a news release from Intel Corp., the California computer company that sponsors the competition. The second-place prize is $75,000. The other top 10 finishers receive scholarships worth at least $20,000, while 30 additional finalists won $5,000 scholarships.

"Cancer always seemed to be like something that wouldn't affect my life in any way," Hedberg said in a phone interview from Washington last night. "But then I learned my grandmother had it in the base of her spine. Then I learned she would need two 12-hour operations to remove the cancer."

He said his project, "An Efficient, Functional Telomerase Activity Assay," would not be helpful in treating the type of cancer his grandmother had. But it could help with other kinds of cancer because the project involves creating a better way to find chemicals that prevent DNA from being corroded over time, and, in turn, prevent the cancerous growths that can ensue.

Hedberg, a senior at North Attleboro High School who goes by Mason Hedberg, beat out 39 finalists from around the country. As the awards banquet got under way last night, Hedberg and the other finalists stood on a riser. Another batch of finalists would be announced. Hedberg kept waiting for his name.

"I could feel my heart beating faster and faster," he said. "I didn't even know I was in the top 10."

He would have to wait some more.

Things had already been pretty over-the-top. On Monday, Hedberg and the rest of the finalists found themselves at the White House. Soon, they found themselves in the Oval Office, shaking hands with President Bush.

"He did all the talking," Hedberg said.

Hedberg, his parents, Herbert Hedberg and Dr. Cynthia Hjerpe, his sister and his grandmother had been in Washington since last Wednesday. He said he had no inkling of what was to come

Then Hedberg learned last night he was the winner. "A combination of disbelief and excitement," Hedberg called it. "I could feel my hands almost go numb afterwards."

It all started the summer before his junior year. Hedberg said he got a microbiology internship at Cetek Corp. in Marlborough, Mass., where his father, an electrical engineer, works. After earning the trust of people there, Hedberg said, "they let you come in and use the equipment for the project."

Hedberg said he worked independently on the project, often starting work on a Saturday morning and finishing up Sunday night. His project became an after-school commitment, too.

"I also had help from several scientists across the country who sent me various materials and gave me various processes I needed to perform," Hedberg said.

Hedberg's discovery is based on earlier research on telomeres, which are structures that are attached to the ends of DNA. They help keep the DNA intact, the same way the plastic tips on shoelaces prevent them from unraveling. When the telomeres become shortened or damaged, risk of cancer increases.

Hedberg won the top prize for finding a faster method for selecting the best chemicals that block the deterioration of telomeres. Further research will be needed to see if those chemicals can be used to prevent or treat cancer in humans.

"There are two drugs being tested right now," Hedberg said, "but it is still unclear how effective they are, and what type of cancer they would be able to be used for."

With reports from Journal Staff Writer C. Eugene Emery and The Associated Press.