This October, Leanne Fan (9) sat in a conference room in St. Paul, Mn., amongst nine other top young scientists as they anxiously awaited the results of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. As Sarah Park, the 2021 winner, played  “We are the Champions” on the violin, Fan began to tear up. When it was announced that Fan had won, she could hardly believe it.  

Every year since 2007, thousands of fifth-through eighth-grade students have generated concepts for scientific innovations and submitted them to the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in hopes of eventually earning the title “America’s Top Young Scientist.” Last year, Fan was one amongst those thousands. 

Fan, who has been participating in science competitions since elementary school, has been working towards her 3M project for years. In fact, this was her third time submitting variations of her project to 3M. Her final project, the “Finsen Headphones” uses a machine-learning model, acoustic reflectometry (similar to echo-location), to detect the presence of fluid behind the eardrum. Once an infection is identified, bacteria is killed with blue-light, which is skin-safe, but effective in treatment. The Finsen Headphones could potentially prevent 60% of hearing loss, which stems from mid-ear infections that are left untreated. 

Because Fan was not allowed to test her product on humans, she was left to get creative during prototyping. 

“Online there’s ear models that people use for ear piercing practice,” Fan said. “I drilled a hole in the middle, and I inserted a DIY ear canal. I filled [the area behind the ear-drum] with fluid, to train [the machine learning program to detect] mid  ear infections.”

The concept for Fan’s invention was initially sparked by experiences with mid-ear infections within her family. 

“My mom always gets ear infections, and she [often] tells me ‘Leanne, when you were a little kid, you used to get so many ear infections and you would scream so much!’” Fan said. “So I read more about them and found out that a lot of kids actually have hearing loss to some extent due to these mid-ear infections, and it can really influence their ability to learn and communicate.” 

Fan named her invention “Finsen Headphones” after Niels Ryberg Finsen, who was awarded The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1903 for inventing phototherapy (the treatment of bacteria through exposure to ultraviolet light), which she uses in her headphones. 

“[Finsen’s discovery] was around the time when antibiotics were invented, so his invention was kind of overshadowed by the ease of use and the cheapness of antibiotics,” Fan said. “But now antibiotic resistance is becoming a problem, and the other therapies that kill bacteria are coming to light.”

When working on her project, Fan kept accessibility in mind as a top priority.  

“I wanted to find a [method to] treat and detect [mid-ear infections] in a low-cost way where you don’t need a doctor,” Fan said. “[The Finsen Headphones] can also be [shared] between people, and [are especially catered toward] kids, because they don’t want to swallow a giant antibiotic pill.”

After sending in her initial pitch, Fan received word that she was one of 10 finalists and was paired up in a mentorship with 3M Scientist Ross Behling, who she met with virtually once a week to discuss her progress. 

As Fan’s prize for winning, she received $25,000, and a trip to New York to ring the New York Stock Exchange bell.

For Fan, this win carried extra weight, as three years ago she accompanied her older sister Kara Fan as she rang the NYSE bell after being named the 3M Top Young Scientist of 2019. 

“My sister won the award three years ago, and I was there when she rang the NYSE bell,  so I’ve been thinking about it for the past three years,” Fan said. “Once I was able to enter, I was just hoping [to become a finalist]. I didn’t expect to win at all. But when I did win, I was super excited, because it’s just such an amazing experience getting to meet all of the [3M scientists, and the other finalists].”

As for Fan’s prize money, she plans to patent her invention and test her product on human subjects, with her end goal being to get the Finsen Headphones on the market.