Senior Katie Barufka recently competed in the Siemens Math and Science competition. Thirty teams of two and 30 individuals are chosen from 2,000 applicants to compete in six regions.
Katie competed in the MIT region with her partner, Neil Davey, who attends Montgomery Blair High School. “My partner and I won for that region (MIT) and we will compete at nationals,” said Barufka.
The two got the win by developing a potential vaccine for Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a skin disease that affects many people living in third world parts of the globe such as the Middle East and South America.
According to WUSA9.com, they earned $3,000 in scholarship money for their regional win and are now preparing for the national competition, in which they could win $100,000 in scholarship funds.
Barufka was motivated to find a cure for the parasitic disease because her mother has Lyme disease, a dangerous illness received from tick bites. The vaccine has been tested on mice and “appears to be successful,” according to WUSA9.com.
As the two wait for the final competition at George Washington University in December, they hope that the vaccine can become available to the third world people who desperately need it.