This post was originally published on here
Shock at the discovery of the low survival rate from an aggressive form of brain cancer spurred 15-year-old Aoibheann Daly to develop a diagnostic tool to aid faster and better treatment.
That tool, GlioScope, has now won the Kerry teenager the overall prize at the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (YSTE).
Aoibheann, from Mercy Secondary School, Mounthawk in Tralee, attended the Centre for Talented Youth in Dublin City University (DCU) for three weeks several years ago and it set her off on a determined quest.
“I studied medicine and we came across brain tumours, specifically glioblastoma,” she said.
“I was in first year at the time so I was a bit naive, but when I heard about the glioblastoma survival rate – the five-year survival rate is only 5.1 per cent – it shook me. I was like, it’s 2023, why is it so low?
“I learned how to code before – from the internet – so I wondered can I apply coding to this problem?”
The result is an AI tool that can detect the mutations associated with glioblastoma and profile the tumours from MRI scans without the need for the invasive procedures usually required to collect brain tissue for analysis.
The idea is to give doctors clear diagnoses faster so they can begin treatment sooner, without such invasive procedures.
Aoibheann does not want to stop there, however.
“A neurosurgeon said to me: if you were able to model for the patient’s occupation, you could balance a treatment plan with quality of life,” she said.
“So, say you’re a pianist – you could tailor the treatment to take into account how the patient wants to live and what they want to be able to do. So that’s what I want to look at next.”
Aoibheann has two younger siblings and two very proud parents – Anne, a pharmacist, and John, an engineer.
“I’m so proud of her. She has worked so, so hard,” said Anne.
“She went everywhere for information to make this work. She didn’t give up. She won a category award last year and just kept working to improve it.”
While ribbons and streamers piled up around Aoibheann, she admitted to being a little overwhelmed and wasn’t thinking about celebrating just yet.
“Maybe I’ll just go to bed,” she said. “I’m very tired.”
Her work beat off strong competition from 550 projects selected for final judging out of almost 2,000 entries this year, which is the 62nd year of the event.
She takes home prize money of €7,500 and will represent Ireland at the EU Contest for Young Scientists in Kiel, Germany, later this year.
Elsewhere, Aoife Fadian and Jessica O’Connor from Ursuline College in Sligo, were named best group with their project using sheep’s wool to reinforce concrete.
Joshua Corbett from St Mary’s CBS in Co Laois won individual runner-up for his project that identifies nanocarriers for intranasal drug delivery to treat brain cancer.
Ritvik Venkateshwar and Hao Wen Liu from Stratford College in Dublin were named runner-up group, with their project to accurately describe the early universe.
If the experience of past winners is anything to go by, Aoibheann is about to embark on a big life adventure.
Last year’s winners – sisters Ciara, Saoirse and Laoise Murphy from Presentation Secondary School, Tralee – described their win as having opened up “a whole new world” to them.
The trio won for their development of an app they called ACT (Aid Care Treat) that facilitates the swift sharing of medical data and location details between health practitioners, hospitals and first responders so that faster and more accurate assistance in medical emergencies could be provided.
“We’re continuing our collaboration with the HSE and we’ve begun collaborating with the World Health Organisation so we’re very optimistic about the future for the app,” said Ciara (18), who is sitting her Leaving Cert this year.
“And aside from that, we’ve travelled the country for Women in Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) events which we’re really proud to be part of. We’ve been exploring a whole world and it’s been so enjoyable.”
Ciara said taking part in the YSTE had also helped the girls discover their passions.
She has almost decided on applying to study law now, while Saoirse (16) would like to pursue medicine.
Currently in transition year, she is doing work experience with a gynaecologist.
Laoise (13), who is in second year, said she was leaning towards studying finance.
If all goes to plan, they say they’ll have the ideal trio of skills to set up their own company.
But there is payback for having YSTE honours. Cormac Harris from Cork, overall winner in 2020, and Liam Carew, overall winner in 2023, were drafted in as judges in the primary school science fair which takes place alongside the main event.
They were not complaining though.
“The enthusiasm is unreal,” said Cormac, now in fourth-year medicine in University College Cork (UCC).
“And I’m very happy to come back and help because this experience meant a lot to me.
“Having people believe in your work, work that you are passionate about, makes you believe in yourself.”
Liam, now in third year of his applied psychology degree, also in UCC, was also enjoying the excitement.
“They’re all talking over each other, they’re so eager to tell you about their project,” he said.
“It’s great for them. When you get to take part in something like this you grow in confidence tenfold.”
Stripe executive Niamh Donnellan, who took over as head of the YSTE in the past year, said the experience of running the event had been fantastic.
“We’re absolutely blown away by the talent,” she said.
“They’re using cutting-edge science technology but a lot of their own ingenuity and thought and a huge amount of hard work has gone into these projects.”
While not everyone leaves with a prize, she said she hoped they all went home feeling a little taller.
“We really want to ensure that everybody that comes out of here steps out of this room with a little bit more confidence and curiosity and goes out to pursue their passions.”
