Lead Mentor:
Xuanhong Cheng, Bioengineering
2024 Impact Fellows:
Nancy Cárcamo Paiz ‘27
Alice Chen '24
Amelie Fry ‘27
Nicole Hirsch ‘26
Owen Holst ‘27
Adelaide Ogden ‘26
Jake Feuerstein '26
Hamsa Javagal '25
Lauryn Jones '25
Chibugo Okeke '25
Project Description:
Sickle cell disease is prevalent in Sierra Leone and contributes significantly to the high mortality rate of mothers and children. Currently, diagnosis of sickle cell in Sierra Leone is mostly symptom-based since standard diagnostic equipment requires too much training and infrastructure to be implemented in resource-limited settings. To tackle this problem, the SickLED team is developing point-of-care test strips for sickle cell disease and studying the impact of diagnosis on patients’ outcomes, the perceptions of sickle cell disease, and education pathways for healthcare providers and the general public in Sierra Leone. The end goal of this project is to make the tests widely available in Sierra Leone as part of a program to identify and manage sickle cell patients. All majors are welcome.
