Prarthana Prashanth

Hi! My name is Prarthana Prashanth and I am a rising freshman at the University of Illinois at Chicago through the GPPA Medical Scholars Program. I recently graduated from the Illinois Math and Science Academy and hope to serve the community through entering the medical field. I am fascinated by the biological sciences and have spent the past few years studying the effects of various natural compounds on toxins and carrying out microbiological research at Feinberg School of Medicine. In fact, a team and I created the PeelTowel, an antibacterial hand towel made from fruit peels, and found one version to be 95% effective. We presented our idea to the local mayor and with the help of mentors were able to publish our findings. Outside of biology, I enjoy running a free volunteer-based program called OneInMath in 5 of the local libraries. While I began with just 5 students, today the program teaches 200 students every week and has given over 5000 hours of service to the community. It has been awesome to see so many students, volunteers, and the community grow over the years. I would love to talk more with you, feel free to send me a message!