Maryam enjoys playing tennis, drawing, and gardening. Her science hero is her father, an electromagnetics expert. "His example and determination have inspired me to work hard and to try and make a difference in our world," Maryam says. "Ever since a young age, I have wanted to be a biomedical researcher, working specifically on diseases that have a global impact on human health," she explains.
Maryam learned about the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance. She wanted to know if everyday supplements and foods affected the bacteria's susceptibility to antibiotics.
Maryam tested 30 over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and fresh fruits. For the tests, she soaked antibiotic sensitivity disks in solutions of the various test substances. She incubated colonies of bacteria in the presence of these disks, then measured the increase or decrease in effectiveness of the antibiotics when used alone. She also tested 150 combinations of her test substances. She found that fresh fruit solutions increased antibiotic sensitivity to bacteria, while certain combinations of herbal supplements decreased antibiotic effectiveness.
