Dasia Taylor (born April 6, 2004) is an inventor, scientist and CEO known for her invention of medical sutures that indicate infection with surgical wounds.[1]

Biography

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Dasia Taylor was born On April 6, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois.[1] Her family relocated to Madison, Indiana and later on Iowa City, Iowa.[1] She graduated from Iowa City West High School in 2021.[1] Taylor attended weekly school board and district meetings as a student to advocate for an anti-racist curriculum. [1] Taylor is enrolled and attends the University of Iowa.[2]

Discovery

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In October 2019, Taylor invented medical sutures that change color to indicate a wound infection as part of a science fair.[3][4] During the development of the project, she discovered that many sutures are coated with a material that conducts electrical resistance in wounds, which is then sent to a patient or doctor's device to warn them of an infection.[3] This technology is widely used in the U.S., but is expensive and limited in access. [3] [5] Taylor had to create and test out several dyes and suture threads before discovering beet dye and cotton-polyster blend threads worked best for her invention.[3] Her sutures were also created with the aim to be cost-effective and accessible.[6] In 2021,Taylor was named a finalist in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, and received the Seaborg Award.[3][6]

She is the founder and CEO of VariegateHealth, a medical device company.[7]

She was named Iowa's Woman of the Year in 2023 by USA Today.[8][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Alexander, Otis (2021-08-02). "Dasia Taylor (2004- ) •". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  2. ^ "Dasia Taylor | InventEd". 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  3. ^ a b c d e Magazine, Smithsonian; Machemer, Theresa. "This High Schooler Invented Color-Changing Sutures to Detect Infection". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  4. ^ Sy, Stephanie; Wellford, Stephanie (2021-07-22). "17-year-old makes color changing sutures that detect infection". PBS News. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  5. ^ "Innovative Inventors: Dasia Taylor". KID Museum. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  6. ^ a b Huynh, Anjali; Krupa, Michelle (2021-04-17). "A student harnessed the power of beets to make healing from surgery safer – and more equitable". CNN. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  7. ^ a b Crowder, Courtney. "An Iowa high schooler invented an infection-detecting suture. Now she's a CEO". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  8. ^ King, Grace (2023-07-30). "Iowa City West High School graduate Dasia Taylor celebrating birthday at museum". The Gazette. Retrieved 2024-12-20.