ANAlyze – Lethbridge High School iGEM
A rapid easy-to-use test that can detect ANAs earlier than conventional testing and reduce single-use plastic medical waste.
Over 900,000 Canadians have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. In fact, Alberta has the highest rate of MS in Canada. These autoimmune diseases result in the development of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) that can be used as a method for diagnosing patients. The current methods for detecting ANAs involve ELISA and Western blot tests, which can be time consuming, labour-intensive, prone to false negatives, and create excessive medical laboratory single-use plastic waste. Our solution will be to create a rapid easy-to-use test that can detect ANAs earlier than conventional testing and reduce single-use plastic medical waste.
| Team Grade Level: | 10-12 |
| Team Experience Level: | Intermediate to Advanced |
| STEM Focus: | Bioengineering, Synthetic Biology |
| UN Sustainability Focus | Good Health & Well Being |
