Beachwood High School Student 1 of 4 Ohioans Named to Prestigious Science List

BEACHWOOD, OH - A Beachwood High School student has been named to the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search. Swathi Ravi Srinivasan, 17, is one of four students in Ohio named to the list.

Swathi's study was short on brevity and full of passion and genius. It was named, "Evaluating the Relationships Between Micronutrients in Spices and Alzheimer’s Disease Through Biochemistry and Bioinformatics Approaches." In layman's terms, she studied how certain spices can inhibit the development of Alzheimer's Disease.

If it seems like a heady subject for a 17-year-old to tackle, it is. But Swathi is no typical 17-year-old. She's already been accepted to both Harvard and Ohio State and is still mulling her options on universities to attend next year.

She's also already committed herself to the study and eradication of Alzheimer's Disease. Her passion in fighting the disease has its beginnings in an ABC drama, of all places. She says she was a fifth grade girl that became obsessed with Gray's Anatomy. Specifically, she was obsessed with Dr. Derek Shephard (known to some fans as "McDreamy"). For those that aren't similarly devoted to the long-running show, Shepherd is a neurosurgeon and in one story arc he attempts to cure Alzheimer's.

"I fell in love with Gray’s Anatomy and Derek Shephard and decided I wanted to be an Alzheimer’s researcher," Swathi said, noting that her crush led her to research the disease. Unlike other fifth graders, she soon found herself diligently investigating neuroscience and neurobiology and how Alzheimer's interacts with both.

"I would love to study neurobiology and neuroscience. I’m looking into careers related to that research. I’d really like to look into neuroradiology," she said.

That inspiration brought her to the study of Alzheimer's. Her picky eating brought her to this specific project.

"I love Indian food. I’ve lived in an Indian household my entire life," she said. "But I was a very picky eater. I was always told I had to eat certain things. Eat carrots, they'll help your eyes. Milk will strengthen your bones. Whenever I asked why I had to eat spicy food, there was no real answer."

She then saw research that connected a lower rate of Alzheimer's in people in the Mediterranean to diet. She also saw that India had a lower incidence of Alzheimer's than the US. Armed with those facts, she began to wonder if diet and spices in India also led to a lower incidence of Alzheimer's.

Specifically, she started by investigating turmeric and chili pepper, two spices common in many Indian dishes. She found help in the laboratory of Case Western Reserve University researcher Dr. Michael Zagorski and his research assistant Colin Boyle.

Her results were promising. Alzheimer's occurs partly because of the buildup of a particular type of plaque on the brain. The micronutrients within the spices appeared to vastly inhibit the buildup of this plaque.

Eventually she found two additional spices, tamarind and anise, that could help inhibit Alzheimer's and with the help of another Case Western researcher, Dr. Rong Xu, and her graduate assistant Xiao Shucai, began confirming her research.

"These chemicals inhibited the peptide which led to the formation of the plaque and in some cases appeared to reverse the development completely. It’s very experimental," she said.

Of the four spices, turmeric, chili pepper, tarmind and anise, she focused specifically on their primary chemical ingredients: curcumin, capsaicin, tartaric acid and acetic acid, and anethole, respectively.

When asked what she saw as the future of her findings, she said her answer was twofold. The first part of her answer concerned people understanding the role diet can play in their lives.

"Healthy living is very important. Diet plays a huge part in healthy living," she said. "Whether or not this research is fully consequential, there are very few negative effects in trying spices. It’s not like a drug that could have negative impacts. In that respect, we don’t necessarily need more research."

The second part of the answer was that there would need to be much more research done to see if the spices would be able to cross the blood-brain barrier and have an immediate impact. However, she does feel that elements of the spices could be added to existing FDA medications.

"Maybe the cure for Alzheimer’s is already out there. It’s all about using the information we already have," she said.

During her research, she also received guidance and assistance from Case Western's Dr. Stephen Haynesworth.

When everything was said and done, Swathi had spent two years of her young life dedicated to research into this project. Being named to the Regeneron Science Talent Search is an honor and a validation of her work, she says.

"This is what I’ve worked for for a long time," she said. "It’s validation for the people who worked on my behalf. This is something for them."

Photos from Swathi Ravi Srinivasan