Greenwich High junior takes home Google’s top science prize

She is the victor of the recent 2015 Google Science Fair for her cheap Ebola detector device, which only costs $25. Olivia Hallisey was awarded the prize, after her project was chosen as the best among thousands of entries from all over the world. Google gave her $50,000 in scholarship funds as part of the award. The test that Hallisey submitted to the prestigious science contest claims to detect the Ebola virus quickly and without the need for refrigeration.

Interestingly, this tool was not developed by deep-pocketed pharmaceutical companies nor by experienced researchers but by a teenager who is still in her junior at Greenwich High School in Connecticut.

The current method of testing for Ebola requires ELISA detection kits that cost hundreds of dollars and can take up to 12 hours to produce a result.

On the other hand, her invention is a diagnostic set that is easily portable and stable enough to be stored at room temperature. The Ebola Assay Card is made from photo paper and can detect antigens for the deadly virus.

Reagents at the center of the card change color, provided that the result is positive. She also elicited guidance from several studies.

The next step after this Ebola detection kit is for Hallisey to adapt the test with saliva samples and also to include the diagnosis of other illnesses such as HIV, Lyme disease, dengue fever, yellow fever and even certain types of cancer.

“I would just encourage girls just to try it in the beginning, remind them that they don’t have to feel naturally drawn or feel like they have a special talent for math or science”, she told CNBC, “but just really just look at something they are interested in and then think how to improve something or make it more enjoyable or relate it to their interests”.

The physician was the first American to return to the country and receive medical care for the disease, which he eventually recovered from. She undergone infrim paying attention to some from West Africa suffer with as this lady appeared to be seated successfully in her residence.