Keshav plays jazz and classical guitar, as well as tennis, basketball, and soccer. He is interested in a future career as a product designer because he likes "to learn about materials."
A diet including fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of some cancers, so Keshav investigated a biochemical process that might account for this linkage. He learned that the compound D-glucarate found in albedo—the inner white pulp of an orange and in other fruits and vegetables—inhibits an enzyme suspected to play a role in cancer. Keshav hypothesized that exposing cancer cells to citrus albedo extract would impede growth in cancer cells.
Keshav obtained prostate cancer cells and exposed some to albedo extract. After applying a product that colors dead cells, Keshav was able to use a spectrophotometer to took at the cell samples and discern dead from living cells. Daily tests for four days showed that the prostate cancer cells appeared to thrive in the extract. The finding suggests that albedo extract failed to inhibit the enzyme.
