Johanna Bernu, a senior at Cloquet High school, continues to sweep state, national, and international science fair competitions. Her project studies the disinfectant properties of yellow water lilies rhizomes, or kaandoosh which is a traditional Ojibwe medicine.

“It’s been used as an antiseptic, for any skin irritations, and also for GI issues. Those have never really been fully defined,” Johanna tells The Lift. “My hope is that my project, which shows the disinfectant properties, raise awareness to pharmaceutical resistances and how using a biodegradable disinfectant, such as water lilies roots, can help limit the amount of pharmaceutical waste, especially in drinking water. There’s no way to filter it out in city water systems.”

There’s still more research ahead for Johanna, “In my previous studies, I’ve shown it works comparable to chemical disinfectants, but this year specifically, I want to look at how it interacts with heavy metals. That’s something that’s in waterways across Minnesota.” She works with two different UMD professors.