Broadcom Coding with Commitment Winner Uses Coding to Detect Disease

Keshvee Sekhda Applied Coding to #3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals at National Science Fair Competition

Middle schooler Keshvee Sekhda from Sugar Hill, Georgia, was the recipient of the Broadcom Coding with Commitment^TM  award at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge gala in Washington, DC, on November 2, 2023.  Broadcom Foundation sponsors this national award to inspire students throughout the United States and around the world to combine STEM learning with coding to solve community problems they care about that align with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Pamela Liou, Senior Associate General Counsel, ESG and Ethics and Compliance Team at Broadcom Inc., was on hand to bestow the $10,000 award to the 14-year-old.  Keshvee and her teammate Nyambura Sallinen, developed IdentiCan, a smartphone app that identifies breast, lung, and skin cancer, using photos or health scans, sound clips, and personal health information to predict diagnoses.

“It is so inspiring to be in the presence of these young, innovative students who are thinking of creative ways to solve problems they see in their communities and to make lives better,” said Liou.

“Today, so many of the students have projects that are aimed at addressing the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and there is hope for the future.”

Pamela Liou, Senior Associate General Counsel, ESG and Ethics and Compliance Team at Broadcom Inc.,

“Broadcom Foundation is honored to continue its long and fruitful partnership with the Society for Science through its sponsorship of this national award,” said Broadcom Foundation President Paula Golden. “Because digital literacy is becoming increasingly important to workforce development at all levels of society, it is especially important to bring forward standard-bearers like Keshvee and her project partner.”

Broadcom Foundation bestows the Broadcom Coding with Commitment™ award at sponsored science fairs throughout the United States as well as at other competitions to promote digital literacy through basic coding and global citizenship, encouraging students to learn to act locally and think globally through the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

 “After hearing stories about people in my community dying due to a delayed diagnosis or even a false diagnosis, I was motivated to create something to battle the mortality rates associated with cancer,” said Keshvee.