2026 Davidson Fellow Isabel Garcia was recently featured by The Times of India for her research exploring how coral bacteria could help address cholera-causing bacteria in water reservoirs.
Garcia, 18, of Wilmington, North Carolina, received a $25,000 Davidson Fellows Scholarship for her project, “Identification of Coral Bacteria McH1-7, OfavHM2-11 and McHM3-18 as Probiotic Candidates Capable of Inhibiting the Pathogen Vibrio cholerae (Serogroups O1 and O139) for Cholera Water Sanitation.”
For her project, Garcia investigated four bacteria isolated from coral and identified three as candidates capable of inhibiting Vibrio cholerae in both solid and liquid environments. Her research focuses on addressing the pathogen in environmental reservoirs, including water, where targeting the bacteria at its source could provide another approach to cholera prevention.
Garcia’s research has received four Grand and Special Awards at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. She will attend Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Robertson Scholar, where she plans to study biology and business before pursuing an MD/PhD program.
Read the full feature from The Times of India: “Meet Isabel Garcia, the 18-year-old North Carolina student who found 3 coral bacteria that could block cholera-causing bacteria in water; she won $25,000.”