Morris native participates in program to improve field drug testing

Morris native Kara Fulkerson is participating in a program to create a more creditable field drug test as part of Tennessee Tech University’s Creative Inquiry Summer Experience program.

The program provides students with a paid internship to help develop their research and creative inquiry skills, according to a press release from Tennessee Tech. In addition, the grant allows them to work on the project with faculty members during the summer, where they present their findings.

“The CISE program has helped me develop useful skills that I am now using in my classes and will continue to use in the future if I am successful in obtaining a career in a crime lab,” Fulkerson said.

The students have developed a thin layer chromatography liquid on a micro-scale. Chromatography is a technique used to separate components of a mixture that results in a definitive test and is used in forensic laboratories. This liquid is poured into the tiny glass vials to create kits that help distinguish between various drugs, bath salts and amphetamines.

The group is working on optimizing the kits to identify every substance. Fulkerson focuses on cannabinoids, compounds found in the cannabis plant.