A disturbing headline about heavy metals in baby food prompted Meritxell Ortodo (ENG’26) to investigate a serious public health concern. Meritxell and Trinity Olander (CAS’25), uncovered a troubling connection between contaminated soil and the food supply that affects children’s neurological development. Their research led them to found Agrinova, a startup developing technology that addresses this critical health issue by creating portable, affordable soil testing for farmers.
“This whole journey started because of the Boston University iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team,” explains Meritxell. “We started digging into what was causing this heavy metal contamination in baby food, and it led back to soil and the soil conditions in which these vegetables were being grown.”
Trinity and Meritxell, studying molecular biology and biomedical engineering respectively, identified a critical gap in the agricultural industry. Currently, farmers must send soil samples to laboratories for expensive testing, waiting days or weeks for results that can be difficult to interpret.
“What we’re trying to do is give that power back to the farmers,” Meritxell says. “So they themselves can do their tests, see the data, and make decisions based on what they need.”
Their solution, called Nova, uses genetically engineered E. coli bacteria that fluoresce in the presence of contaminants—an innovative alternative to traditional spectroscopy methods that require $25,000 machines and professional operators. This biosensor technology delivers real-time results with approximately 90% accuracy compared to industry gold standards.
Trinity explains the significance of their focus on heavy metals: “They are specifically a threat to health in terms of neurological diseases that can cause all sorts of health issues, especially in children. We also identified heavy metals as a major inhibitor of plant growth.”
The technology not only addresses immediate soil contamination concerns but also offers a platform for future expansion. “The heart of our device lies in our biosensors, which are genetically modified bacteria,” Meritxell says. “What’s cool about that is that we can genetically modify them to sense whatever we need to sense.”
This flexibility means Agrinova could eventually expand beyond heavy metals to test for other soil nutrients or even develop applications for water quality testing. For Trinity, the work aligns perfectly with her passion for urban agriculture and addressing food security. “I’ve always been really passionate about food security in all corners of what that looks like. How are we reducing food waste? How are we optimizing food production, and how are we making sure that’s accessible on a wide scale?”
What began as a project for the iGEM Competition evolved into a promising startup with support from mentors like Haley Gordon, head of STEM Pathways at BU, and Miguel Jimenez, who leads Alameda.
“This team has been one of the biggest opportunities BU has given me,” Meritxell reflects. “It was the first time in my college career where I could truly be put in a team, given all these resources to create something. Working with biology majors, data science majors, engineers, all to create this one thing was awesome.”
The team’s innovative approach earned them a gold medal at the iGEM competition in Paris, where they presented alongside over 400 teams from around the world. They’ve continued developing their concept through programs like the New England I-Corps @ MIT, conducting market research to refine their product.
Now, Agrinova is one of the finalist teams in the New Venture Competition, and we can’t wait to see them pitch on stage at Innovators’ Night 2025!
