Students Published in Peer-reviewed Journal

The Montrose BioBuilderClub, a program dedicated to teaching high school students synthetic biology to develop innovative biotechnologies, showcased remarkable achievements at the BioBuilder International Final Assembly. Both teams presented their research at the assembly after working closely with a professional bioengineer throughout the year, meeting weekly.

Team 1, consisting of Leslie Baker ‘24, Cate Lynch ‘24, Hana Shinzawa ‘24 and Rosie Reale ‘24, was advised by Dr. Natalie Kuldell, founder and executive director of BioBuilder and an educator at MIT's Department of Biological Engineering. Team 1 engineered a yeast-based detection system for Salmonella typhi. Their experiment at the BioBuilders Learning Lab, testing the effects of lipopolysaccharide on yeast viability, confirmed the system's viability, promising advancements in food safety. 

Team 2 consisted of Liesl-Ann Vaz ‘25, Siena Eliffe ‘27, Ruby Quintiliani ‘27, Rachel Dunn ‘25, Tvesha Patel ‘27 and Aneesa Maity ‘27, under the supervision of PhD candidate Ming Hia, a graduate student at Boston University. Team 2 addressed peanut allergies by devising a portable biosynthetic biosensor detecting Ara-H2 allergens in food using yeast and GFP. 

Team 1’s research was selected to be published in BioTreks, an international peer-reviewed academic journal.

“The BioBuilder judges found that both teams demonstrated significant innovation and dedication in synthetic biology,” said science teacher Sarah Hanna, who advises the BioBuilder Club along with faculty member Isabelle Ortiz.

"These are exceptional accomplishments that showcase the girls’ ingenuity and dedication,” said STEM head Monica Baker. “Both teams successfully underwent the design/build/test cycle for their original projects in synthetic biology. Team 1's selection for publication in an international scientific journal underscores their impactful work."