2026 Davidson Fellow Austin Jin Featured for Innovative Tuberculosis Blood Test
Congratulations to 2026 Davidson Fellow Austin Jin of Great Neck, New York, whose research project, M-CATCH: A Multiplex Microparticle CRISPR Assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Drug Resistance Characterization, has been featured by The Times of India and FlipItMoney.
Austin developed M-CATCH, a CRISPR-based diagnostic platform designed to detect tuberculosis from a blood-serum sample rather than a sputum sample. The approach could help address a significant barrier to diagnosis for young children, immunocompromised patients, and others who may be unable to provide a usable sputum sample.
In addition to identifying genetic signatures associated with tuberculosis, Austin’s platform can detect mutations linked to drug resistance with single-nucleotide specificity. By combining specially designed CRISPR-Cas12a guide RNAs with a microfluidics chip, M-CATCH can screen hundreds of reactions simultaneously, creating potential for high-throughput testing in settings with limited laboratory resources.
Austin received a $50,000 Davidson Fellows Scholarship for his work. He plans to study biomedical engineering and biochemistry and pursue a career as a physician-scientist, with the goal of translating scientific research into clinical tools that help patients.
Read more in The Times of India and FlipItMoney.