About the Invention

In 1995, Sabrina Perri invented the MicroBiolumiscan, a small, portable, reusable, and accurate monitoring instrument that detects pollutants in water and soil, and determines levels of toxicity. The MicroBiolumiscan uses bacteria that have been genetically engineered to be bioluminescent. The bacteria "light up" when they come into contact with pollutants. According to the amount of light emitted, one can measure the extent of cellular toxicity. On a practical level, the device could be used by the home building industry to test soil toxicity, indicating whether it is safe to build in a specific area. In the future, the MicroBiolumiscan may even be able to indicate antibiotic resistance.

Sabrina conceived the idea for the MicroBiolumiscan when she was in grade 9 at Villa Maria High School. She worked on her concept over the next three years, officially unveiling it at her Grade 11 science fair. Sabrina's invention won her 14 major awards that included provincial, national and international science fair awards, and attracted much media attention.

The MicroBiolumiscan was inspired by Sabrina's concern for environmental and public health. She learned through a television documentary that the Canadian government spent huge amounts of money cleaning up soil that wasn't necessarily contaminated. She believed that if there was an easily transportable and inexpensive device that could measure pollution and levels of toxicity, better accuracy and cost-efffectiveness could be achieved. The instrument that Sabrina invented was more specific, accurate, and cheaper than the leading competition's product, which cost forty times as much and was too large to carry around.

Sabrina wants her product to get to market. She spent a number of years approaching various industries, where she hoped she might find financial backing to enable her to continue developing the MicroBiolumiscan. Purchase offers were forthcoming from several companies, but she wasn't interested in selling her invention. She wanted to be involved in its development. Sabrina has now learned how to build websites so that she can use the web as a marketing device. Through the Internet, she has made a number of contacts that show promise.

The MicroBiolumiscan is not patented, because the costs to patent such a device are too high. As well, the information was made public at many science fairs, so anyone could have copied the technology.

About the Inventor

Sabrina, describes herself as a "self-motivated, persistent 22 year old, who is always willing to learn." She enjoys travelling, listening to music, downhill skiing, and swimming. Her great success with the Microbiolumiscan has given her the opportunity to meet with Queen Elizabeth, Canadian Astronaut Roberta Bondar and to travel to Kuwait. A highlight of Sabrina's career was placing first at the International Science Fair, beating out the other 1048 participants.

Along the way, she has benefited from the support of many people. She was mentored by Professor DuBow who co-created with Dr. Guzzo the genetically engineered bacteria used in the MicroBiolumiscan. Professor Dubow provided advice to Sabrina during the research and development phase of her work. Some grad students from the Microbiology and Electrical Engineering Departments at the University of McGill also provided expertise. However, her greatest support was her family. Sabrina was also influenced greatly by her cousin, NASA astronaut Cdr. Mario Runco Jr., who went from being a state trooper to going into space three times.

Developing the MicroBiolumiscan was a pivitol experience in Sabrina's life. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. this fall (2000) at the very young age of 22. Once she completes her Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine (Cancer Gene Therapy), she hopes to combine her passion for medical research with her interest in business.