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Anirudh demonstrates how young innovators can bridge the gap between technology and social impact, transforming personal tragedies into meaningful change that saves human lives. Since his uncle was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2023, Anirudh has been on a mission to help kidney patients through both research and advocacy. When researching kidney diseases and the current transplantation system, he learned that over 3,800 kidneys are wasted each year in the US alone. At the same time, over 13 people die each day while waiting for a kidney, which led him to launch KidneyChain, an AI platform with a novel algorithm that could revolutionize donor-to-patient matching and prevent kidney wastage. Currently, he is actively engaging nephrologists to integrate the platform into pilot clinics, and initial results and feedback are promising. In recognition of KidneyChain's potential to deliver equitable healthcare on a global scale, I was pleased to see him named a Hometown Hero by Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, a United Nations Millennium Fellow, selected as one of six inductees into the 2025 National Gallery of America's Young Inventors, and receive a Congressional Commendation. To amplify his impact, Anirudh has been an advocate for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) for the past 2 years and a passionate voice for patients and donors. He has engaged in legislative advocacy at the local and national level, lobbying members of Congress in support of the Living Donor Protection Act, participating in media outreach across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and helping organize local NKF community events. As a result of his deep involvement with the NKF community, Anirudh represented NKF in Washington, D.C. in 2025, successfully advocating for kidney health policy directly on Capitol Hill.

In pursuit of his broader goal of saving lives, Anirudh has conducted research to understand and improve human health through artificial intelligence. At Stanford University and Harvard Medical School (HMS), he is developing AI-based systems that model complex biological and environmental processes. At the Stanford Rosser Laboratory, he has developed computer vision pipelines using drone imagery to identify breeding sites for dengue-carrying mosquitoes and mitigate the virus's spread before outbreaks occur. In collaboration with government officials and researchers in dengue-endemic regions worldwide, his work aims to transform reactive public health into proactive prevention. He is also leading projects at HMS, under the guidance of Dr. Haoqi Sun, to uncover causal mechanisms in sleep, aging, and disease using AI, generating biological insights to aid disease prevention. His work has earned recognition at the national and international level, including being named a 2025 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, the most esteemed undergraduate STEM scholarship, and one of three hundred high schoolers to be named Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar, and winning an award at the 2024 International Science and Engineering Fair. His resourcefulness is also evident in his successful funding applications to Harvard OpenBio and GripTape to support his research endeavors.

Across research, advocacy, and entrepreneurship, Anirudh's work embodies his motivation to build tools that save human lives. That commitment and his impact thus far make him a powerful role model for the next generation of innovators.

However, what makes me most proud is the wonderful human being that he is. Recently, after learning about the decline in youth volunteerism in his local community, he launched the "Rise and Serve" campaign, successfully rallying young North Texans to serve. Over a hundred youths participated in the summits he organized, which featured influential speakers, including the Colleyville Chief of Police, the Colleyville Assistant City Manager, and the Chief Development Officer of a local nonprofit. These summits equipped young individuals with knowledge about volunteering opportunities and the transformative impact they could make in their communities. To sustain enthusiasm for public service, Anirudh created a website and podcast series. These platforms feature interviews with local leaders, showcase service opportunities, and highlight success stories, further inspiring youth involvement and community engagement. I was genuinely pleased to see Anirudh getting recognized with the Lion's Heart Think of Others Before Yourself award.

Nahjae belongs on the Future Minds Under 35 list because, while still under twenty-five and based in the United Kingdom, he is already shaping how institutions understand and act on child poverty and youth voice across continents. His work does not sit in a single programme; it sits at the point where global commitments become national decisions.

As Co-Chair of the International Youth Taskforce for CHOGM 2024, he led a process that brought together more than 300 youth leaders from all five Commonwealth regions and produced the 13th Declaration by the Young People of the Commonwealth. That Declaration now anchors the Commonwealth Youth Development Agenda, guiding work in governments representing over 1.5 billion young people. Its clauses on participation, equity and resilience are being used as a reference point in ministerial plans and regional strategies.

At UNICEF Office of Research–Innocenti, he has authored a landmark chapter of The State of the World’s Children 2025 on child poverty, the first time a young person has led a SOWC chapter. The chapter draws on the lived realities of children and adolescents who have faced hunger, disrupted schooling and precarious work, and it offers concrete guidance that more than twenty UNICEF country offices are now using to adjust social protection, education and community-level interventions. The resources for this work are channelled directly through governments and UN budgets; additional targeted support, such as a CIVICUS micro-grant, has enabled small states to pilot the approach.

A recent case from Jamaica illustrates his impact. Young people described rising prices, quiet withdrawal from school and the feeling that their experiences were invisible. Working with national officials and partners, Nahjae helped translate those accounts into a short policy package: a regular youth consultation on budgets, clearer criteria for hardship support, and a simple requirement to track who is being reached by age, gender and location. Within a year, youth were sitting in structured budget discussions, administrators had clearer guidance for emergency support, and decision-makers could see which communities were still being missed. For those young people, the change was not abstract. It meant staying in school, being invited into the room and seeing their reality reflected in the way systems responded.

I am the author of three books, including “13 Lessons I Wish Everyone Knew at 13 — A Guide for Teens for a Better Life.” I am the Founder of THAT TEEN, a platform for teens, and we have received brand ambassadorship applications from Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), Menifee (USA), Palawan (Philippines), Lake Elsinore (California, USA), Manchester (New Hampshire, USA), Flaxweiler (Luxembourg), NSW (Australia), California (USA), Elizabeth (New Jersey, USA), Columbia (South Carolina, USA), Leitchfield (Kentucky, USA), El Monte (California, USA), Lusaka (Zambia), Meerut (India), New York (USA), Union (New Jersey, USA), Benton (Kentucky, USA), New Delhi (India), and Lilongwe (Malawi), along with collaboration requests from teen organizations in Oviedo (USA), Connecticut (USA), Dublin (California, USA), Egypt + United Kingdom, and Aktobe (Kazakhstan). I am creating a social network for talented teens. My other achievements include being the Youth Judge 2025 for the Global Youth Awards (United Kingdom), Delegate to the First-Ever Virtual COP, Indian Delegate to RCOY 2024 endorsed by the Government of Sri Lanka, World Citizen Peace Ambassador, 2025 Être TED Education Talk Speaker, and Host of the 2024 UN CSC Delegate Stories. As Club 17 Coalition Leader, I mobilized 10 people for the ACT NOW Challenge. I am a founding team member of the Sport for the Pact Consultation Forum 2024, contributing to moderation and facilitation. I have served as a Notetaker, Contributor, and Speaker for TogetherForSDGs #YouthLead WPAY Contribution, represented Club 17 Impact Coalition in the Youth Working Group on the World Social Summit, and contributed to Youth Inputs to the Pact for the Future, the Youth Civil Society Consultation, and the World Summit of the Children. I am also a Global Change Ambassador at The Legacy Project, Student Ambassador at the International Youth Committee, and Public Relations Officer at SpeakForAfrica, impacting several countries in Africa. Additionally, I was a Delegate to IYC10: Informal Youth Summit of the Future, attended the Summit of the Future Virtual Consultation, served as IYC9 Delegate, attended the Asia-Pacific Youth Taking the Pact for the Future Forward Side Event, became Teen Advisor to BrandUP, UNFCCC COP30 Virtual Delegate, Institute of Economics and Peace Ambassador, and Observer to the Town Hall for the FFD4 Outcome Document. As the 2024 UNCSC Online Advocate, I helped make the hashtag #WeCommitAndActNow go viral globally. I have dedicated my days and nights to diplomacy, and every project has been done with all my heart.

Marta is a 19yo portuguese inventor that is developing robots to scale nature conservation. With a 10 year background of self-taugh robotics, marta has focused her work in restoring and protecting ecosystes, being today the youngest conservation roboticist explorer at National Geographic. From designing and building surface water floating plastic catcher to fight offshore pollution to seaweed reforestation monitoring systems their work focuses on developing technology that restores or protects ecosystems.

From their work it is worth to highlight SONDA, an autonomous buoy co-developed by them that eliminated noise pollution at marine protected areas enhancing fish fertility and conserving cetacean communication, funded by GrowNY and Emergent Ventures. They co-founded Trovador, a startup that is developing autonomous reforestation robots to enable reforestation from flat land to hazardous remote locations, recognized by National Geograpic, and nominated Leader in Sustainable Robotics by EURobotics. They not only raised 100k€ for their newest prototype, as they managed to build and deploy a full-scale tree-planting robot, that carries 200 trees, and is designed to plant them in one hour.

In 2025 they we also selected as one of the top 5 most aspiring teens in Tech in Europe due to their focus on sustainability.

Mind4Youth, one of the world’s largest youth-led mental health organizations, makes teen mental health resources accessible for underserved youth. The organization has grown to over 22,000 youth volunteers in 70 countries, raised $430,000, and provided 48,000 self-care products. With 56 partnerships, including organizations such as the United Nations and Better Help, Mind4Youth has provided 1,800 free therapy sessions and started 96 chapters around the world. Sarah also serves as the first youth representative on the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders, advocating for policy with U.S. Representatives. She has been honored as a Top 3 Finalist for the International Children’s Peace Prize and a Top 20 Finalist for the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Why does this nominee belong on the Future Minds Under 25 list? Be specific.

Aisha Yesset, a 10-year-old innovator from Kazakhstan, has already demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, and empathy through technology. As the youngest finalist of Technovation Girls 2024, Aisha co-created iHear, an educational app that helps children with hearing loss and cochlear implants develop speech and communication skills. Her motivation came from her best friend Aileen, who was born without hearing.

Aisha combines technology, art, and empathy — using programming, animation, and design to solve real social challenges at an early age.

How many people were impacted? And who were they?

The first users of iHear were children with cochlear implants in Kazakhstan, starting with Aileen and several families from local hearing rehabilitation centers.

The project has since inspired teachers, parents, and young coders across the country. Over 2000 people learned about iHear through media coverage, Technovation Global Summit presentations, and educational communities.

How were they supported?

Aisha and her teammate received mentorship through Technovation Girls Kazakhstan, under the guidance of ambassador Diana Tsoy. They were also supported by their families, teachers, and experts in speech therapy who helped test and improve the app’s learning materials.

Aisha continues her research within the state scientific project “Zerde”, exploring how children with hearing impairments adapt in schools.

How much money did you raise?

The iHear app was developed as a non-profit educational project.

While no money was raised directly, the team received in-kind support, mentorship, and recognition from the Technovation Global Summit hosted at the NVIDIA headquarters in Silicon Valley — selected among 15 finalist teams from 69 countries (out of 2300 teams from Kazakhstan alone).

What does this mean for the people you work with?

For children with hearing loss, iHear represents hope — a way to learn words faster, practice pronunciation, and connect with peers.

For young girls in STEM, Aisha’s story shows that age doesn’t limit impact. Her example encourages other kids in Kazakhstan and beyond to use technology to help people, not just for fun.

Case Study

One of the first testers of the iHear app was Aileen — Aisha’s childhood friend who inspired her to create the project.

Aileen was born deaf and received cochlear implants at the ages of two and three. During the first test, she eagerly used the app and, within just a few minutes, learned and understood six new English words.

She especially loved that the learning process was designed as a fun game with engaging animations and interactive cards.

Ailyn gave very positive feedback and said she wanted to keep using the app.

Later, other children with hearing impairments from kindergartens and schools also tested iHear — they were equally engaged, motivated, and showed strong learning progress.