When Anotiona Kolb was growing up in New Canaan, Connecticut, she knew that ticks were no joke.
In 2024, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station reported that 4,000 ticks had been submitted from across the state — and 26% of them tested positive for Lyme disease.
The CDC also estimates that approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year, and that doesn’t account for the 20 additional infections that ticks can carry.
Kolb grew up paranoid of the parasites, checking herself for them any time she walked through forests and tall grasses.
Then she got sick.
After a year of fainting spells and constant dizziness, Kolb was misdiagnosed several times before tests confirmed what she already feared — she had Babesia and Bartonella, two rare and potentially life-threatening tick-borne illnesses.
Then in her 11th year of high school — at the King School in Stamford, Connecticut — Kolb’s personal story drove her to create a new invention: a free tick-scanning app called DETICKT IT.
The app analyzes user-submitted photos of ticks and generates a comprehensive risk assessment of the most prevalent tick-borne diseases in their region.
By using geographic location, and embedding the app with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s spatiotemporal tick and pathogen surveillance statistics, Kolb was able to reduce the margin of error and provide users with the best information available.
While developing her app at the King School, Kolb sought mentorship from the school’s director of science research Victoria Schulman.
“I was thrilled she sought my opinion,” Schulman said in a press release from the King School. “I hope it's clear to Antonia and to other alums that I'm happy to continue supporting them…even after they have moved on from King.”
Today, Kolb is in her first year at Harvard University studying environmental science, engineering, and economics.
And in December 2024, Kolb became one of 34 U.S. winners honored with the Princess Diana Award for her work.
The award, which is named after the late Princess of Wales, is designed to uplift young people (aged 9 to 25) making a positive difference in the world.
“I know my mother, in whose memory you receive the Diana Award today, would be immensely proud of you,” Prince William wrote in a letter to Kolb. “I hope this award helps you to further champion your cause and support those around you.”
“Thank you for your dedication. You are extraordinary.”
Upon receiving the award, Kolb expressed her gratitude, saying, “It was an absolute honor to be named a 2024 Diana Award recipient among other talented and inspiring individuals.”
To date, DETICKT IT has over 3,000 downloads and has helped people access tick bites in real time and seek out crucial medical care.
Header image via Antonia Kolb / DETICKT IT
