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Tate Grad Develops Product That Could Improve AIDS Treatment Worldwide

A Tate High School graduate has developed a product that could help make AIDS treatment faster, more effective and cheaper whether it is used in a local doctor’s office or a remote area of Africa. His research and innovation was recognized with the Baxter Young Investigator Award.

The annual Baxter awards are intended to stimulate and reward research applicable to the development of critical care therapies and medical products that save and sustain patients’ lives.

As a Ph.D. candidate at University of Illinois, Nicholas Watkins developed a CD4 counter, which counts a specific type of blood cell, called the Helper T cell. The cell normally fights off disease, but HIV attacks the T cells and uses them to create more  viruses. An HIV positive patient will develop AIDS if the T cell count falls too low.

The final prototype of Watkins’s device will be hand held, requiring only one drop of blood from an AIDS patient. The device then counts the number of Helper T cells in the blood, providing a snapshot of the HIV patient’s immune system and determining which type of drugs the patients should receive.

Watkins’ current prototype can provide T cell counts in about 15 minutes or less — allowing a doctor to obtain a count and adjust a drug therapy in a single appointment.

Machines called flow cytometers exist and complete the same task, but these devices are large and expensive. Watkins said these machines are “very efficient,” but, they can cost over $100,000 and require highly skilled technicians to operate them.

When Watkins thought of making his CD4 counter at the University of Illinois, he had sub-Saharan Africa in mind — a long way from his former Cantonment residence.

“We’re trying to make a handheld, portable CD4 counter that can be deployed to regions that don’t have the money we have,” Watkins said. “We’re thinking of areas like sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/AIDS is prevalent.”

But his device will not benefit solely one region in the world. Watkins said this type of machine would be necessary in any underdeveloped country that has a large portion of its population battling AIDS. He said millions of dollars are sent to these countries to help support the dispersal of medication, but the different medications are only effective when the correct one is given based on an individual’s Helper T cell count.

“Each person’s immune system responds differently,” Watkins said. “You need a highly quantitative test like a CD4 counter to determine which drugs work better. These drugs do work, but the problem is that we’re having trouble figuring out which drugs work for each person.”

Watkins added that his portable CD4 counter can help improve the quality of life for people who do not live in bigger cities, where flow cytometers might be available.

The device is Watkins’s PhD project under the direction of his adviser, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Rashid Bashir, director of the Micro and Nanotechnology Lab. He has been working on the project since 2009.

“It was very challenging but very rewarding knowing this is a very practical application and could be used in the next few years,” Watkins said. “It’s fulfilling to know that this research won’t just be published but will actually be used to help people.”

Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.