Kerry student wins top prize for ‘extraordinary’ brain cancer diagnostic tool

A 15-year-old student from Kerry has won the top prize at the Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition for a project designed to improve brain cancer treatment. Aoibheann Daly, a fourth-year student at Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk, took home the award for her project, GlioScope: multi-task deep learning and causal AI for glioma & glioblastoma profiling.

GlioScope Aims to Improve Brain Cancer Treatment

GlioScope helps doctors predict the likely genetic mutations present in brain cancer from a simple MRI scan, potentially leading to quicker treatment decisions and reduced risk for patients. Currently, identifying these mutations requires invasive brain tissue samples, which carry a risk of bleeding and are both slow and expensive.

Daly’s project was selected from over 2,000 entries, triumphing over the 550 projects that reached the final round of the competition. She will receive €7,500 and represent Ireland at the EU Contest for Young Scientists in Germany later this year.

“Brain cancer is a devastating condition for people. Glioscope, developed by a 15-year-old student, is an extraordinary achievement,” said Professor Catherine Darker, head judge for the Health and Wellbeing category. “Aoibheann has brought together scientific areas of medicine with computer science to improve the chances of early intervention for people with brain cancer. She is a worthy winner of the Stripe Young Scientist & Technologist 2026.”

Eileen O’Mara, chief revenue officer at Stripe, stated, “Aoibheann has taken a tragic health condition affecting hundreds of Irish families, and applied cutting-edge science to move the field forward. It’s a stunning piece of work.”

Runner-Up Also Focused on Brain Cancer

Joshua Corbett, a sixth-year student from St Mary’s CBS in Laois, was named the individual runner-up for a project focused on drug delivery for brain cancer. His project identifies tiny nanocarriers for drug delivery administered through the nose.

According to Rachel Quinlan, head judge for the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences category, Corbett’s project “used machine learning to identify the best designs of tiny nanocarriers…to act as miniature submarines.” Quinlan added that the method can “guide the next practical steps in the development of treatments leading to better outcomes.”

Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison, a past winner of the competition, and education minister Hildegarde Naughton congratulated Daly at the awards ceremony held in the RDS.