Katherine enjoys working with the Science Olympiad and volunteers at her local elementary school. Her longstanding goal is to become a neurosurgeon.
Katherine became interested in her topic when a child in her elementary school died from a disease associated with the protozoan Naegleria fowleri. She learned that the organism causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) and that central Floridians were at high risk for the disease as a result of swimming in warm lakes where this protozoan thrives. Worst of all, no known treatment exists. Katherine later noticed that areas under pine trees generally support little undergrowth, so she thought that perhaps pine extracts were killing organisms on the ground.
Katherine collected needles from three species of local pine trees. She prepared the needles by grinding them, dissolving the pulp, and draining it. She applied each extract to protozoan cultures in varying strengths. She counted the number of protozoa per microscope field before and after applying the extracts. The data supported her idea that pine extracts hinder protozoan growth.
