Saliva-based biodegradable prediabetes risk test for the 2021 Biodesign Challenge
January 2021 – June 2021
Adobe Illustrator, After Effects, iMovie
Laura Yien, Alicia Hans, Sarika Sethi, & Martin Kim
Branding, packaging, prototyping, video editing, research
The Biodesign Challenge is an international competition where students design a solution to a social problem using biological materials. I took Biodesign Theory and Practice Winter and Spring Quarter 2021 where teams of interdisciplinary students competed in an internal Biodesign Challenge at UC Davis to decide who would represent our school at the international competition.
Inspired by my teammate's dad's struggle with Type 2 Diabetes, our team designed the concept for a saliva-based biodegradable prediabetes risk test called PreDiaSense. It uses genetically engineered yeast to detect asprosin, a biomarker in saliva linked with insulin resistance, and produce a color change (since this was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, we did not actually have to create our actual product).
As the only designer on the team, I was primarily responsible for designing our final prototype and figuring out the physical characteristics of our test. I went through several paper prototype iterations and sketches before deciding to go with the cone design. I also designed the branding, website, and edited the final video.
Learn more about PreDiaSense on our website!