Hyderabad: Two class 11 students from Indus International School, Tanish Veernapalli and Saketh Babu Kollipara, have received mentorship and institutional support from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. This support is for their research on breaking down PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of persistent ‘forever chemicals’ increasingly found in water sources.PFAS are synthetic chemicals known for their extremely strong carbon-fluorine bonds, making them highly resistant to degradation. “Because they do not easily break down, they accumulate in the environment and the human body, and long-term exposure has been linked to serious health risks, including cancer. While studies in countries such as the United States have shown their presence in nearly all individuals tested, concerns are also rising about their spread in Indian water systems,” said Tanish, aged 16.Started as small projectWhat began as a small after-school project soon turned into a full-fledged research effort. Using bioinformatics and machine learning, the students analysed vast environmental datasets to identify molecules that could potentially break down PFAS. Their work narrowed down nearly 20 promising candidates.“We started with just our computers, trying to understand the problem and test ideas. After several failures, we realised we needed guidance and approached researchers,” said Saketh, aged 17. “Our aim was not just to highlight the issue, but to actually contribute to solving it,” he added.A major breakthrough in their study was the identification of epoxide hydrolases, a class of enzymes not previously linked to PFAS degradation, as potential candidates capable of breaking down these chemicals.“When I first learnt about PFAS, I was surprised by how widespread yet overlooked the problem was,” Saketh added. “Working with mentors helped us take our idea further. Now we are testing these enzymes in laboratory conditions to see how effectively they can break down PFAS,” said Tanish.Their work has already received recognition at major science platforms, including a gold medal at the Indian National Science and Engineering Fair, a silver medal at the Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM, and selection among the top 28 entries at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize India. They have also qualified to represent India at the international Genius Olympiad.The students are currently continuing validation of their findings with support from IIT Hyderabad.Globally relevant problem“It is very encouraging to see such young students take up a complex and globally relevant problem like PFAS. What they have done is a strong preliminary step, identifying promising gene candidates through computational work,” said Hanuman Singh Dagur, a researcher from IIT Hyderabad who is mentoring Tanish and Saketh. He added, “The next stage is to experimentally validate these findings, which involves expressing the genes, isolating the proteins, and testing whether they can actually break down fluorine-containing compounds. This is a time-intensive process, but their work provides a valuable starting point.”
