Georgia Students Build CRISPR Lyme Test That Detects Infection in 48 Hours
Teen researchers in suburban Atlanta may have cracked one of diagnostics’ toughest challenges: early Lyme detection. Their CRISPR test shows promise for identifying infection long before standard tools can.
For laboratory leaders navigating a rapidly shifting diagnostics landscape, a new signal of future innovation is emerging from an unexpected place: a suburban high school lab in Georgia. Lambert High School’s student researchers have engineered a CRISPR-based prototype that may detect Lyme disease days after infection—a potential breakthrough that, if validated, underscores how quickly synthetic biology is advancing and how early the next generation is entering the field.
Clinical laboratory professionals will be happy to note the promising work that the next generation of lab scientists has started.
The students, all part of Lambert High School’s elite synthetic biology team near Atlanta, set out to solve what senior Claire Lee called one of medicine’s most stubborn blind spots. “We’re doing something in our high school lab that could potentially have a huge impact for, like, millions of people,” she said. “This thing could help save lives.”
Using CRISPR, the powerful gene-editing tool, the teens developed a prototype test that appears capable of detecting Lyme disease just two days after infection, far earlier than the two-week window required by current assays. Although based on simulated blood serum and still in proof-of-concept stages, their findings were compelling enough to earn praise from scientists and secure a top-10 finish at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in Paris.
High School Genetic Engineers With an Ambitious Plan
Led by team captains Sean Lee and Avani Karthik, the CRISPR-based system targets a protein produced in the earliest moments of Lyme infection. “One of the biggest problems with Lyme is the lack of, like, being able to diagnose it,” Karthik said. They even met one patient who went “15 years without a diagnosis.”
Their idea was to use CRISPR to cut away extraneous DNA, revealing the protein so it could be detected with a rapid, kit-style test which is much like the COVID-19 diagnostic format. The students also explored using a different CRISPR system to block Lyme-causing bacteria as a potential therapeutic alternative to antibiotics.
But the team’s vision initially met resistance. Biotechnology teacher Kate Sharer said she warned students, “This project in particular, I told them: this is very high risk, high reward.” She admitted, “I couldn’t imagine any of this working,” though she supported their efforts. External experts were similarly cautious. As co-captain Sean Lee recalled,
“They did tell us in the beginning that this might not be so feasible because you’re trying to tackle such a big thing.”
A Top-Notch Lab Inside a Public School
Lambert’s program stands out nationally. Its county-funded, corporate-supported lab rivals those at universities, and the school draws families who relocate specifically for opportunities like iGEM. The team—entirely Asian-American this year and mostly children of immigrants—accepts roughly 10 members from about 100 applicants. Students pitch project ideas, test into the program, and endure what the team calls “insanely long hours.”
In September, after months of work, the students saw the data they had hoped for. Their system flagged early Lyme markers in as little as two days. It wasn’t human-blood–validated, but it was enough to push the project forward.
They spent the last weeks before the competition building a website, compiling results and pulling all-nighters to finalize their presentation.
Showdown in Paris
Arriving in Paris in late October, Lambert joined more than 400 teams from around the globe. Projects ranged from designing Mars-ready crops to developing enzymes to fight indoor mold. Janet Standeven, who oversees iGEM’s high school division and founded Lambert’s program, said she believes synthetic biology education is essential.
Janet Standeven noted that when federal funding for statewide programs was cut, she felt “absolutely devastated” and “angry,” though a judge has since temporarily restored the support. (Photo credit: Engineering Biology Research Consortium)
Stanford professor and iGEM co-founder Drew Endy warned that the U.S. risks losing ground in biotechnology as China accelerates national investment. “It’s urgent that leadership of the next generation of biotechnology has a strong presence in America,” he said. After seeing Lambert’s work, he added, “They appear to have developed a better diagnostic for Lyme disease than anything I’ve seen before.”
China’s Great Bay team ultimately won the grand prize. Lambert, nominated in five categories, earned the award for best software tool and finished among the top 10 high school teams worldwide—the only American team to do so.
For the Lambert students, the recognition mattered, but the mission mattered more. As Claire Lee put it, working on a test with the potential to save lives made every long night “worth it.”
—Janette Wider
