A senior student at The Episcopal School of Dallas, Samantha Brosler, has co-authored a scientific paper that will be published in the upcoming May edition of The Journal of the Electrochemical Society.  

Samantha began working on a research team in the Bio Engineering Department at UT-Dallas in July of 2017, and that summer project continued into the school year as she and a senior student from Plano West worked many hours after school and on weekends alongside their bioengineering professor mentor.

Their research created a unique, screen-printing method for embedding biosensors in fabric to detect and report the presence of the influenza virus. The resulting fabric can be used to create clothing or gloves worn by medical personnel, sanitation workers, and service industry personnel in at-risk communities. The fabric can identify if the user has been in contact with the virus. Because the biosensor is integrated with a reporting platform, the data collected can be used as an early warning system for flu outbreaks, allowing for preventative measures before mass-symptoms are manifested. In February, they heard that their research and hard work was substantial enough to be published in The Journal of the Electrochemical Society.

"Working alongside other scientists on a problem-solving team for the last half-year has been an extremely rewarding aspect of my life," she said. "It showed me the kind of environment that I want to be part of in the future."

Samantha will continue her research endeavors in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania this fall.