LEE COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) -A Lee County High School junior is conducting groundbreaking cancer research alongside Harvard Medical School, Ohio State University, and Emory University while spearheading a national project that has raised more than $300,000.

Sai Thoutham has connected over 200 people to life-saving lung cancer screening services through his National Billboard Project. The project addresses healthcare access challenges in rural areas.

“It opened my eyes to, you know, especially in rural settings where people or, patients somehow have to travel distances, possibly one, two, three hours to Atlanta or, like, in major cities to get the access care they need,” Thoutham said. “So that kind of, like, started. That was kind of my motivation to... instead of getting into college, why can I not start right now? Like, what’s stopping me, you know?”

Father supports son’s mission

Thoutham’s father, Ravinder Thoutham, said his son’s dedication to helping others runs deep, even when encouraged to explore other fields.

“I asked him whether he would like to go into the software field. He said, no, he doesn’t want to go there. He wants to do something, you know, where people are directly impacted,” Ravinder Thoutham said. “So we are happy for that.”

Innovation leads to patient and clinical trials

Beyond research, Thoutham co-founded Resonair, an innovative lung cancer screening tool. The tool secured a U.S. patent and is now linked to a $1.5 million clinical trial.

His achievements have earned him recognition as a Georgia Governor’s Honors Program finalist and Diamond Challenge semifinalist.

“Even if you’re in a rural county, even if you’re a rural student, even if you go to any place in the world, absolutely anything is possible,” Thoutham said. “And then just chase your dreams, chase your goals, and then one day you’ll reach them and also make sure to help people and then spread happiness and then get people to be aware of lung cancer awareness and lung cancer screening because it’s really important if you want to save people’s lives.”

Thoutham has been accepted to several colleges but is waiting to hear from some of his top choices. He remains committed to continuing his cancer research and making an even bigger impact.

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