Teenagers at Lambert High School in suburban Atlanta used CRISPR gene‑editing tools to design a new approach to detecting and treating Lyme disease as part of their entry to iGEM, the international synthetic biology competition.
Project and method
– The students targeted a protein produced during infection. Using CRISPR in a simulated blood serum, they aimed to expose that protein by cutting away surrounding genetic material, making it detectable with a simple strip‑test format (similar to pregnancy or rapid COVID tests). Their diagnostic showed the potential to detect infection as early as two days after exposure, compared with about two weeks for many current tests.
– For treatment, the team explored using CRISPR to target the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. They built software models to plan CRISPR designs and considered delivery methods such as lipid nanoparticles (the same basic delivery platform used in some recent vaccines).
Team, lab, mentors
– The project was led by student captains including Sean Lee and Avani Karthik, with teammates such as Claire Lee and Rohan Kaushik involved in lab work, coding and presentations.
– Kate Sharer, their biotechnology teacher, described the work as high‑risk/high‑reward and said the students often taught her as they pushed far beyond typical high‑school biology.
– The team consulted professors and outside stakeholders for feedback and feasibility checks.
Context: iGEM and competition
– iGEM is an international synthetic biology contest (sometimes called a “science Olympics”) that requires teams to use engineered biological systems to address real world problems. Teams are judged on lab work, software, safety, outreach and their presentations.
– Lambert High School’s team traveled to Paris for iGEM 2025, where more than 400 teams competed. Lambert finished in the high‑school top 10 and won an award for Best Software Tool, though the grand prize was awarded to Great Bay from Shenzhen, China.
– iGEM organizers noted strong growth in Asia: hundreds of teams there compared with a much smaller U.S. high‑school presence. Stanford professor and iGEM co‑founder Drew Endy warned that U.S. leadership in biotech depends on cultivating young talent, and he praised Lambert’s diagnostic work as potentially significant if validated.
Resources and equity
– Lambert’s program benefits from a college‑level lab funded by district and donors. The school is in an affluent, high‑achieving district; the iGEM team is highly selective, with many applicants vying for a handful of spots. The team is largely Asian‑American, with students described as children of immigrants.
– Janet Standeven, who created Lambert’s iGEM program and later worked to expand synthetic biology education across Georgia, obtained federal funding to bring these programs to high schools statewide. That funding was cut during the Trump administration amid political controversy, then temporarily restored by a judge; its longer‑term future remained uncertain at the time of reporting.
Results, caveats and next steps
– Lambert’s diagnostic stripe showed promising early results in a lab setting (simulated serum) and the students reported early success on both detection and CRISPR‑based treatment modeling. Scientists who reviewed the work said it could be a major breakthrough if validated with further testing.
– Scientists and the students themselves emphasized that these results are an early step: the work requires far more testing, validation, safety review and regulatory steps before any clinical application. Delivery, off‑target effects, immune responses and large‑scale validation are among the hurdles ahead.
– The team raced to finish experiments, software and outreach materials before the competition, pulling all‑nighters to prepare their data, code and website for judges.
Broader implications and reactions
– Observers saw the students’ work as emblematic of how synthetic biology education at the high‑school level can accelerate innovation and prepare the next generation of biotech leaders.
– Drew Endy and other scientists said the diagnostic approach—if confirmed and further developed—could apply beyond Lyme disease to detecting other molecules in blood.
– The story also highlighted disparities in access to high‑level lab education, and concerns that U.S. K–12 synthetic biology programs face funding instability even as other countries rapidly expand their educational pipelines into biotech.
Awards and recognition
– Lambert’s team received a top‑10 finish among high‑school teams and won a software award at iGEM 2025. Their work drew attention from iGEM judges and researchers, and the students described the experience as both a competition and a real‑world attempt to help patients who struggle to get timely diagnoses for Lyme disease.
Summary
Lambert High School students leveraged CRISPR and synthetic biology to develop a rapid diagnostic concept for early Lyme detection and to model CRISPR‑based treatment strategies. Their work—carried out in a well‑equipped high‑school lab with mentorship—won awards and acclaim at iGEM, but it remains preliminary and requires substantial additional testing and development before any clinical use. The project underscores both the promise of early STEM education in synthetic biology and the equity and funding challenges involved in expanding such programs.
