Anton enjoys biking, swimming, and hiking. He also plays the piano and is an avid reader. Anton would like to become an engineer or ornithologist. "I enjoy creating things, and I have a great fascination with birds, especially owls," he explains. Anton's mentor is
Dr. William Pasculle, who "has allowed me to work in his laboratory and attend his medical lectures."
When Anton accompanied his father, a physician, on hospital rounds, he noticed several patients isolated for MRSA—an antibiotic-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus. He wanted to find out if the dangerous bacteria were limited to hospitals, or if individuals in the general population served as carriers.
Anton swabbed the noses of 27 school children and faculty and 10 microbiology technicians. He cultured the samples for three days and tested them for the presence of S. aureus. He subjected the positive samples to a methicillin sensitivity test, to identify any antibiotic-resistant strains. He discovered that while most of his volunteers carried S. aureus, only one, a laboratory technician, carried an antibiotic-resistant strain. He concluded that MRSA is localized to hospitals and is not a wider community problem.
