Kerry teen wins 2026 Young Scientist prize with brain cancer treatment tool

Aoibheann Daly, 15, from County Kerry won the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition for GlioScope, a project that uses MRI and AI to predict genetic mutations in brain tumours; she received €7,500 and will represent Ireland at the EU contest in Kiel in September 2026.

A 15-year-old student from County Kerry won the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. Her project, called GlioScope, applies multi-task deep learning and causal AI to MRI images to profile glioma and glioblastoma. It aims to predict which genetic mutations may be present from scans rather than by taking brain tissue samples. The prize was presented at the RDS in Dublin by Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton and Stripe cofounder Patrick Collison. Key facts: - Aoibheann Daly, 15, from County Kerry was named the overall winner for 2026 with her project GlioScope. - GlioScope uses MRI data combined with multi-task deep learning and causal AI to predict genetic mutations in glioma and glioblastoma. - Doctors currently often rely on taking brain tissue samples, which the article reports are expensive and carry a high risk of bleeding in the brain. - Aoibheann received a grand prize of 7,500 euros and will represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Kiel in September 2026. - The Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition attracted more than 1,000 students presenting 550 projects, was chosen from nearly 2,000 entries, and is sponsored this year by Stripe. Summary: The project is intended to make genetic profiling of brain tumours quicker and less invasive by using MRI-based predictions and by combining medical and computer science approaches. As the competition winner, Aoibheann received the prize and will go on to represent Ireland at the EU contest in Kiel in September 2026.