Innovative Minds: Sydney Zhang

Mesa Verde Middle School | 8th grade | 13 years old

Developing a Low-Cost, High-Sensitivity Method for Early Diagnosis of Dry Eye Diseases

About the Idea

Meet Sydney. Sydney developed a low-cost, high-sensitivity method for early diagnosis of dry eye disease (DED).

Why did you enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge?

Two years ago, I watched 3M Young Scientist Challenge videos, and, encouraged by these young scientists, I started to read many books and websites for scientific research, particularly in the area of biology. My parents supported me in building a small lab in our garage and little by little, I started to develop my own project.

What is your favorite invention of the last 100 years, and why?

CRISPR Cas-9 is my favorite discovery of the last 100 years because it has revolutionized the world of gene-editing. CRISPR Cas-9 can precisely cut and edit certain genes which makes it a very powerful tool to cure many harmful diseases. It can potentially lead us to treat most if not all diseases such as cancer, malaria, and AIDS, etc.

In 15 years I hope to be...

exploring the endless discoveries published by scientists in the exciting field of gene-editing. I want to be a great scientist, and someday I will make my contribution.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein

Meet the Mentor

Jonah Shaver

Product Development Specialist

Protecting the sensors of an autonomous vehicle is like protecting one’s eyesight,” just ask Jonah Shaver, Ph.D. and product development specialist at 3M.

Learn More