Huntington sophomore Shaina Linker is excelling in the high school’s science research program. It’s the second year the teenager has been enrolled in the class and she’s enjoying every minute of it.
Ms. Linker found many benefits to the course in her first year, including learning to speak before groups, conducting high end research and investigating a range of new and informative topics.
Huntington sophomore Shaina Linker.
The sophomore’s current project is focused on antibiotic resistant bacteria colonies called biofilms. Ms. Linker is completely engaged in her work and her project is coming along nicely.
Biofilms cause many infections in the human body and their removal can be challenging since antibiotics do not kill them.
Ms. Linker’s experiment explores the enzyme amylase, which is commonly found in saliva, and how it can inhibit further biofilm growth and spread. While developing an idea for a project, she came across information concerning amylase inhibitors. But she learned that testing the project would be problematic, so upon further research the sophomore found the topic of biofilms.
Fast forward a few more weeks and Ms. Linker settled upon a project title: The Inhibitory Effects of Amylase on Biofilm Formation.
Once the project officially got underway, Ms. Linker was excited to research and learn about biofilms, which are an ongoing issue across the world since they are antibiotic resistant.
Ms. Linker said she can’t wait to see her project “come to life” as she continues to research and learn more about it and the challenges faced by scientists and doctors in countries on every continent.