A pair of grade 10 West Ferris Senior Secondary Students are looking to take their medical research to the next level.
The medical duo of Riley Geisler and Caleb Charette were winners at the North Bay Regional Science Fair last year for their “Synthetic 3D Printed Heart” which they created using the school’s 3D printer.
See: Future physicians create state-of-the-art 3D human heart
After winning in North Bay, the students competed at the Canada Wide Science Fair in Montreal last spring where they got inspiration from another competitor they got to know. Unfortunately she has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Now they are hoping to use inspiration from their friend to use their high tech medical wisdom to help her and share their findings at the Intel ISEF competition in Los Angeles next year.
“We plan to have a new project using the genome editing abilities of CRISPR/cas9 to edit T-Cell DNA so they can recognize cancer cells and destroy them before they can become overly dangerous,” stated Charette.
However, to do this research the students must go to a lab or university but both Canadore College and Nipissing University don’t have the resources they need.
The two teens, who both hope to be doctors one day, found a place they can do the work at McGill University in Montreal. They have connected with a professor at McGill who will help them out, but the research comes with a cost.
That’s why Geisler and Charette have set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of attracting donors and sponsors to help them reach their $2,000 goal.
“The money will be used to help us get down to McGill and perform the experiments with CRISPR and we can bring the finished project to LA,” said Geisler.
“So our priority one is to try to get this money. We are hoping with the GoFundMe we can get that good amount which is $2,000 so we can go for a week and get all of our stuff done as quickly as we can and then we can do the rest online and through Skype and things like that.”
Geisler and Charette are hoping to raise the money to go to Montreal before December.
After that, they hope to put the finishing touches on the project and take it with them to Los Angeles this spring.
They hope in the long term, their research will not just lead them to winning a prize but perhaps help patients like their sick friend.
“This new technology will not only treat Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma; but also any diseases related to genetic mutation,” the teens stated on their GoFundMe page.
“We want to use this treatment to help our friend and millions of others, but unfortunately, can't due to cost. Any donation will be greatly appreciated, and will go to a good cause.”
