Freshman finds new way to diagnose cancer

When Jessica Fields '09 was young, she used to tell her sister, who has Type I Diabetes, that she would find a cure by creating an artificial pancreas. Though that idea never came to fruition, a penchant for scientific innovation led Fields to create an easier and less invasive way to diagnose skin cancer.

Fields' research in cancer and tissue engineering earned her the 2nd place prize in the 2004 National Siemens-Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition, the most prestigious high school contest in the country.

"The new cancer diagnostic that I have invented shows great promise because it is efficient and cheap, and I hope that it will be implemented in doctors' offices and hospitals around the country," Fields said.

Fields first began conducting scientific research in eighth grade. During the summer between her sophomore and junior years in high school, she worked on tissue engineering and cancer research at Stony Brook University with Taylor Bernheim, now a senior at the Ramaz School in Holliswood, New York.

Fields' research project aims to create artificial tissue, which, among other uses, can be used to diagnose cancer. "On one hand, I devised a new way to organize proteins and cells on surfaces to eventually create artificial tissue, perhaps heart tissue for those with cardiac problems or skin tissue for those with severe epidermal burns," Fields said. "The other component of my project involved cancer research, in which I created a new, better and faster way to diagnose cancer at the single-cell level."

At the basic level, the new diagnosis works by comparing the hardness and softness of cancer cells to that of normal cells by using an atomic force microscope. This process is less invasive than the current method of using biopsies.

The research took two years. Fields and Bernheim submitted a 20-page paper on their research to the Siemens-Westinghouse Competition, where it was evaluated by judges in the bioengineering field. "When I submitted my project to the competition, winning didn't even cross my mind," Fields said.

She and Bernheim were named semifinalists and moved onto the regional competition, where they were selected to move on to the national competition. The pair won $6,000 at the regional level and $50,000 at the national to be used toward their education.

Over the course of their research, Fields' and Bernheim's friendship grew into a productive working relationship.

"We were friends before research partners, so we always had a good time," Bernheim said. "But Jess and I are both efficient in the lab. Jess plans everything out in advance to make sure she has time for everything. She is meticulous about her work and cares about each detail deeply. We paid attention to every detail — from the background of our slideshow to our outfits. We made sure to be perfect."

Science has always been of great interest to Fields. "I believe that I have some inexplicable tie to the scientific world," she said. "I've always been passionate about biology, chemistry and especially medicine. I remember begging my parents to take me to the local Barnes and Noble so that I could sit and read magazines like Scientific American and Popular Science."

Above all, Fields hopes that her findings will be put to good use. "Every time I completed an interview, I just hoped that someone out in the world would read the article and be touched by [my] research," Fields said. "I just hoped that my research would truly benefit others in the world some day in the future."

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Fields is currently working on publishing two of her papers in scientific journals and getting a patent for her discovery. She continues to present her findings to companies and scientists. On Oct. 16 she gave a speech to scientists from across the country at an event sponsored by the Educational Testing Services event, the company that ran the competition.

Fields plans to continue her work at Princeton. "While I am not sure about what to major in, I am premed and aspire to become a doctor," she said. "I hope to begin working on a new research project here."