FORT WORTH, Texas — If 14-year-old Ruhani Ahluwalia had her way, her days would be filled with time to let her curiosity run free. How can a doctor attack cancer with medicines that don't damage the patient? How can an artist touch a person with a hidden message in an oil painting? This is Ruhani's world — where the pursuit of learning leads to more learning for a self-described Renaissance teenager, who is multi-talented and has interests.
Since age 11, she has been working summers in a lab at the University of North Texas Health Science Center researching cancer cells. She is testing drugs that can kill cancer cells while limiting the side effects on healthy cells. It's a special mission guided by the heart because she lost a great aunt to leukemia (白血病) when she was in the sixth grade.
"What really damaged her eventually was the treatment and the side effects of it, which kills both cancer and normal cells. " Ruhani explained. Due to this, Ruhani started her cancer research. "I wanted to find a better way to target cancer cells. "
During the summer between sixth and seventh grade, Ruhani began research in the study of cancer with the help of her mother, Parmeet Jodhka, a microbiology professor, who taught her daughter the necessary biology. Working from about 10 a. m. to 3 p. m. in the lab, she has finally presented her findings at multiple science fairs. Her list of accomplishments is five pages long and includes placing third in Brazil's science fair, MOSTRATEC, for her breast cancer research.
"I like learning, " she said, "There is a difference between learning and studying. Studying, you are too stuck in finishing it and in turning it in. Learning, you are doing more for yourself. "
