IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Iowa City student Dasia Taylor maintains that she’s not a scientist - even after being nationally honored for creating sutures, or stitches, that change color when the wound they bind together develops an infection.
Instead, Taylor’s work stemmed from merging curiosity about the medical field with a passion for equity.
“Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, just go with it,” says Taylor, 17, a senior at West High School in Iowa City. “I stand by the idea that I stumbled into STEM by way of intellectual curiosity. Be curious, because that will afford you so many opportunities.”
She’s been recognized as one of the top 40 students out of 300 nationally - and the only from Iowa - from among 1,760 submissions in the Regeneron Science Talent Search. The competition, offered through the Society for Science & the Public, seeks out independent student research that addresses global issues.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that as one of the competition’s top 40 finalists, Taylor will receive at least $25,000 for her efforts. The top 10, who will be announced in March after the finalists undergo a “rigorous” virtual judging process, will win anywhere from $40,000 to $250,000.
“Scholars were chosen based on their exceptional research skills, commitment to academics, innovative thinking and promise as scientists, and hail from 198 American and international high schools in 37 states, Puerto Rico, Chinese Taipei and Singapore,” according to the nonprofit’s announcement about this year’s competition.
According to the World Health Organization, infections following surgery are the most common complications of health care procedures in developing countries. As many as one in five women who have a cesarean section in Africa will develop an infection after the surgery, for example.
In her research, Taylor came across a new type of stitches that can detect infections, which could help prevent dangerous post-surgery infections but would be expensive to implement in places where they’re most needed.
For Taylor, that issue stood out: She has long been immersed in questions of equity; she began studying restorative justice practices in middle school and now is the co-chair of the Iowa City Community School District’s equity committee.
“It was all this fancy technology just to do a couple of basic principles of science and identify basic principles of wound healing. And so I was like, ‘Okay, that’s cool and all, but the people who actually need it probably can’t afford it’.”
So she set out to create an alternative. And that’s where the beets come in.
“Here’s where the science stuff happens,” Taylor prefaced.
“Natural indicators” are substances occurring in nature - like turmeric, grape juice, cherries, red cabbage and, of course, beets - that change color when their level of acidity, or pH level, also changes.
Human skin has natural a pH level of around 5, meaning it’s acidic. When wounds develop, they lose acidity and transition to a pH range of around 8-10.
“So what I did was I found a natural indicator that changed color within that range,” Taylor said. That’s what allows stitches dyed in beet juice to turn purple when the wound becomes infected.
The idea to conduct research in the first place began with West High School teacher Carolyn Walling. She often gauges student interest in independent research and offers to oversee it.
“Usually, I don’t get too many takers. A couple. And (Taylor) was just so excited when I mentioned it,” Walling said. “She just had so many ideas and was so excited, and she just immediately got to work.”
The research itself took months to complete - and all of it outside of school. Taylor researched sutures, dyed them using beet juice, and tested pH levels from late September 2019 up until Valentine’s Day 2020.
“Hers was 100% hers, and it was unique,” Walling said. “And it was innovative - no one’s ever thought of that before. Not that we could find, anyway. So that’s why it was so extraordinary.”
Now a senior, Taylor is in the process of applying to law school. The exact type of law she wants to go into, she says, is still up in the air.
“I’m a firm believer (that) you don’t have to be confined to a box and just stay in one subject area. You can bounce around. If you’re interested in it, go for it.”
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