Pope Francis this past weekend honored the 16-year-old science prodigy who developed a cost-effective method to detect pancreatic cancer.
Jack
Andraka has received several awards for his breakthrough cancer
research, but he says, as a gay scientist, the honor from the Vatican
feels uniquely rewarding.
As Andraka told WBAL
over the weekend, “It’s really amazing to be recognized by the Vatican,
especially as a gay scientist. I mean this would be unheard of just a
few years ago. To be part of this bridge of progress is really amazing.”
“It just shows how much the world has grown to accept people that are gay and are LGBT. It’s really amazing,” he added.
Andraka
received the International Giuseppe Sciacca Award, which is given to
young adults whom the Vatican considers to be positive role models.