Temple Anne Douglas
Virginia
Temple Anne Douglas, 18, of Leesburg, developed a new urine test for the early
detection of Lyme disease for her Intel Science Talent Search medicine & health
project. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection in which the bacteria Borrelia
burgdorferi (Bb) is transmitted from ticks to humans. The current method of
detecting Lyme disease - to look for antibodies in the blood - is unreliable, giving
both false positives and negatives. Temple used hydrogel nanoparticles to trap
and concentrate Bb proteins in the urine. Her urine test is very sensitive,
capable of detecting minute amounts (600 picograms) of Bb proteins. Urine
testing for Lyme disease is less invasive than blood tests and can provide
reliable results soon after receiving a tick bite. A clinical study is being
planned. Temple attends Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
in Alexandria, where she is a member of the French Honor Society. For the past
six years she has been involved with the Alexandria Youth Relay for Life, a
fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The daughter of Bradford and
Patricia Douglas, Temple plans to attend MIT, Princeton or Yale. She hopes to do
cancer research because she wants "to make a difference."
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