Uma Pillai is a scientist, a researcher, a recipient of the Presidential Scholar award, and a graduate of the Academy of Science and Potomac Falls High School. Through the hardships of COVID, Uma rose above the rest. 

Uma Pillai’s research was on the correlation between Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic worm, and peanut allergies. Her hypothesis was that a peanut allergy could be a case of the immune system using antibodies from fighting off the parasitic worm against peanuts. She wanted to prove it by showing that after fighting off the worms, the cockroaches would get a peanut allergy. For her experiment, she injected cockroaches with egg antigens of the parasitic worm and then fed them peanuts. While the control group continued to eat the peanuts with no problem, the experimental group started to have reactions to eating peanuts. This allowed Uma to come to the conclusion that Schistosoma mansoni can and will cause peanut allergies in cockroaches. 

Throughout Uma’s research, she had many ups and downs. One roadblock she faced was the inability to order egg antigens from the main and only supplier of it. Instead of giving up, Uma persevered and eventually got in contact with a college professor. The professor got her in contact with the NIH (National Institutes of Health) Director of the Schistosomiasis Resource Center. There, she got a chance to tell the director, Dr Mentink-Kane, about her idea for an experiment. Dr. Mentink-Kane loved the idea so much she custom made the egg antigens for Uma. 

Throughout the experiment, Uma made many memories, but one stood out to her. When she first brought home the cockroaches for her experiment, she had a brief lapse, wondering how she got herself into this situation. Over time, she got to know the “personality” of all the cockroaches. Some of her favorite cockroaches were a pair who would always do everything together. 

Uma wanted to thank Dr. Cannon, her research manager, for being really supportive and encouraging Uma in her research. On a grander scale, she thanked the entire ACL team for being supportive of her endeavor.

As Uma is going to college, she looks back on her experiences at the Academies of Loudoun. She said that she has learned many things from coming to the Academies, both from the curriculum and from outside of it. Some things that she believes will help her in college are how to persevere while facing difficulties, how to handle a large workload, and maintaining a good work and study ethic. 

She said that her favorite memory at the Academies was going to Green Bank National Radio Observatory in her sophomore year. For two nights, she and her classmates got to examine stars across the galaxy.

Currently, Uma Pillai is going to the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she is taking an accelerated course of 6 years to get her BA (Bachelor of Arts) and MD (Doctor of Medicine). Uma is most excited for being able to work with patients early in the program, something that is not offered at most other universities. 

 

written by Edward Christopher 

edited by Tryphena Pilli and Sarasi Rout