Grade 9 learner named American Lung Cancer Scholar for AI screening research.
Brandon Mashandudze, a Grade 9 learner at Curro Mahikeng, has been named an American Lung Cancer Scholar for research into how artificial intelligence could help detect lung cancer earlier.
He earned the title through the Lung Cancer Innovation Challenge. It is an international competition for middle and high school learners. The American Lung Association’s Lung Cancer Screening Initiative runs it. Entrants develop a medical innovation project focused on lung cancer awareness, screening or early detection, working with mentors along the way. Judges assess each entry on innovation, impact, scalability, cost and subject knowledge. Brandon’s certificate was issued through the Harvard Medical School educational programme.
Improve lung cancer prevention
His proposal looked at how AI and digital health technologies could improve lung cancer prevention, early detection and personalised risk assessment. To complete it, Brandon worked through oncology and epidemiology. He also worked on machine learning and biostatistics. These are subjects not usually taught in Grade 9, and he revised the project over several rounds.
‘At some point, it stopped feeling like a normal school project and felt more like I was actually investigating a question,’ Brandon said.
He chose lung cancer because early detection is important and says the research shaped how he sees technology. ‘AI isn’t here to replace doctors,’ he said. ‘It can be a tool to help doctors look at information and possibly identify things earlier.’
The recognition builds on a strong run of results. At the 2025 Eskom Expo International Science Fair, Brandon won a silver medal and the Junior AI for Impact Award, after winning gold and Best Project in Social Sciences at the regional level.
Curro Mahikeng also performed well at the 2026 Eskom Expo Ngaka Modiri Molema Regional Science Fair, where its learners received two of the four Eskom-sponsored Special Awards. Bongoe Mogapi won Best Energy Project, while Brandon received the Best Innovation award. Brandon and fellow Curro learner Yewo Nyirenda were also named among the Cell C Top Project Award recipients.
The spread of infectious diseases
For this science fair, Brandon presented a separate research project. It examined how environmental conditions may influence the spread of infectious diseases. Using mathematical and computational modelling, he investigated the relationship between the environment and disease transmission. He explored how this could improve understanding of environmental health and disease prevention.
Janita Maritz, Executive Head of Curro Mahikeng, described Brandon as hardworking, humble, and curious about how things work. She said the school aims to give learners room to explore ambitious questions, with teachers acting as mentors. His physical sciences teacher, Miss Tshireletso Pitso, guided his research methodology, helped him sharpen how he communicated his findings and encouraged him when the work became challenging.
‘We are incredibly proud of Brandon,’ Maritz said. ‘It is wonderful to see his hard work recognised on an international stage.’
Brandon plans to continue his research with more data and time, and he’s interested in work where medicine, science, and technology overlap. ‘I want other young people to know that they don’t need to wait until they’re older to start researching something that interests them,’ he said.
https://www.curro.co.za/schools/curro-mahikeng-high-school/
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