Science Fair International finalist: Meghna Manjith

Junior Meghna Manjith claimed one of the few coveted seats at the International Science Fair with her project: “Preventing Surgical Site Infections: Designing a Novel Post-Surgical Treatment Using Silver Nitrate and Ayurvedic Extracts in Combination with DNA Sequence Analysis.” She placed first in the microbiology category of the competition. Similarly, she was awarded the Vitro Biology Award and the US Air Force Award during the Regional Pasco Science and Engineering Showcase Awards Gala.

Moving on in her journey to the state and international competitions, Manjith feels prepared thanks to AP Capstone and Experimental Science teacher, Mr. Anglin.

“Mr. Anglin has prepared me in this journey by really helping me fine tune details of my project and guiding me in just structuring my project in general.” Manjith expresses. “He has been really committed to helping me and all of my peers for our projects and I appreciate his help so much.”

Manjith, intrigued by how common surgical site infections are within hospitals, designed an experiment centered around preventing these infections through post-surgical treatment in addition to using code to analyze patterns within the bacterial strains. 

“I tried to design a treatment that is both inexpensive and effective in preventing bacterial growth from occurring,” Manjith explained.

Manjith’s preparation for her experiment began in August of 2022 and was completed towards the end of January 2023. Her research is still ongoing, and even though she completed most of her project, she faced numerous drawbacks during data collection.

“I accidentally ordered the wrong type [of gel] which would have led to no bacterial growth at all, completely leading to insignificant results,” Manjith admitted.  

Luckily, Amazon Prime Delivery helped ensure she received the correct gel needed for her data collection. With her experiment results, Manjith aims to give people more access to the medicine they need after surgery.

“My project aims to prevent surgical site infections in the homeless urban population.” Manjith conveys. “I believe that creating this inexpensive and effective treatment can help to reduce economic burden costs for the patient and the hospital and allow for more people to have access to the medication they need to stay healthy post-surgery.”