Nanotechnology Engineering Capstone Team wins Engineer of the Future Award
Team 1 won three awards for their project which endeavoured to make a diagnosis of endometriosis a more accurate and easy process. The team won the Engineer of the Future Award. They also placed third in both the ANSYS Design Analysis Competition Award and the Nanotechnology Engineering (NE) FYDP Poster & Prototype Award.
Team 1 with members Hannah Bernstein, Megan Dawson, Victoria Ho, Kiran Naidoo-Edwardson and Jeriann Hsiao wanted to tackle a women’s health issue and had first-hand experience with the frustrations of slow or inaccurate endometriosis diagnoses.
Endometriosis is a painful disease suffered by millions of women. It occurs when endometrial tissue, a tissue native to the uterus, grows outside of the uterus and causes inflammation. Diagnostic tools are outdated, and patients find themselves deciding between ultrasound and MRI, both of which have limited accuracy. Invasive diagnostic surgical methods are still largely inaccurate.
One alternative is to perform an antigen test similar to a COVID test that provides a readout on biomarkers of interest. Current tests can only measure a few proteins at a time due to a cross-reactivity issue. A state-of-the-art technology, known as the nELISA which was developed by nomic bio solves this issue and enables the detection of hundreds of biomarkers at once. Team 1 aimed to improve the nELISA platform by creating a manufacturing technique to eliminate a sensitivity-reducing by-product using a DNA origami cage.
They faced many challenges in developing their prototype. The team had to source a suitable structure from the current literature that could be modified to meet their project requirements. They also needed to master software for designing origami structures. The students also faced critical challenges in the construction of the structures.
Their supervisor Professor Mahla Poudineh recommended they reach out to Dr. Daniel Saliba from McGill University. Dr. Saliba was instrumental in helping them to understand what parameters they needed to change to design a successful prototype.
Team members were very grateful to receive the Engineer of the Future Award.
“For us, the Engineer of the Future award was a large part of what enabled us to work on a biology-related project. Biology-related projects are expensive because reagents, such as DNA and antibodies, can cost between $500-$1000 each,” said team members.” Without the Engineer of the Future Award, we would not have been able to purchase much more than a single antibody within our budget.”
Not only did their project win three awards, Nomic, their industry partner, has submitted a provisional patent for this project. The R&D team at Nomic will continue the project and a patent will be submitted with the team members’ names on it.
Congratulations to Team 1 for using the skills they acquired in the NE program to make a positive impact on women’s health!