Elizabeth spends time playing softball and volleyball, doing volunteer work, and playing the piano. She helps on the school's literary magazine and likes to read and hike. She'd like to pursue a career as a scientist in the field of genetics. "This field is rapidly expanding, and I believe it is essential to the development of human health standards," she says.
Dr. John Prince was Elizabeth's fifth- and sixth-grade science teacher and is her mentor. "He has helped me to believe in myself and my abilities through not only science, but also life lessons," she says.
News articles about using raw honey as an antibiotic intrigued Elizabeth. She was also aware of the recent increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and wanted to explore whether raw honey could be an alternative antibiotic source to combat them.
Elizabeth began by diluting raw honey with distilled water. Making four solutions, she left one untreated and treated the other three with ultraviolet radiation, ethanol, or heat, all of which would eliminate any bacteria or organisms. Each solution was combined with a sample of either beef or chicken and plated with nutrient agar. After culturing for two days, the results were not uniform primarily because of the conditions in the laboratory. The second phase of the project used undiluted raw honey under the same conditions. Elizabeth concluded that raw, untreated honey is an effective antibiotic but that it loses its antimicrobial properties if heated or diluted.
