From Bacteria to Blood
A Comprehensive Scientific Literature Review and In-Depth Lab Analysis of Synthetic Hemoglobin Biosynthesis
About the Project |
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This Fellows project was born out of a passion for Biochemistry, combined with a real life need for blood. When I originally thought of this project back in 2019, I began to notice a very dangerous trend in the medical industry as a result of COVID-19. Through my involvement in the Red Cross club at Severn, I realized that the cancelations of our bi-annual blood drives were not isolated events, but rather microcosms of a larger trend; A trend leading to blood shortages across the globe.
Blood drive organizers such as the American Red Cross were unable to set up safe blood drives during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, through the combination of my scientific interest with my understanding of the shortages in blood across the country, I put two and two together and realized that the fellows program was a perfect platform to make a measurable change in the medical industry and scientific community. I quickly became inspired to research if and how blood could be synthesized outside of the body; cutting out the middle man, and delivering blood directly from the lab to the consumer. Thus, this project was born- researching how to create the vital protein Hemoglobin, a key protein in blood, so blood can be made in the lab.
Blood drive organizers such as the American Red Cross were unable to set up safe blood drives during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, through the combination of my scientific interest with my understanding of the shortages in blood across the country, I put two and two together and realized that the fellows program was a perfect platform to make a measurable change in the medical industry and scientific community. I quickly became inspired to research if and how blood could be synthesized outside of the body; cutting out the middle man, and delivering blood directly from the lab to the consumer. Thus, this project was born- researching how to create the vital protein Hemoglobin, a key protein in blood, so blood can be made in the lab.