For most of the brilliant young Canadians who enter the Sanofi-Aventis Biotalent Challenge (SABC), the lure is the chance to undertake significant research in a real laboratory. For 18-year-old Caitlin Martin Newnham, however, the motivation was much more personal.

Caitlin was named the winner of this year’s SABC for Southwest Ontario for her project investigating pain relief.

When Caitlin, a grade 12 student at London’s A.B. Lucas Secondary School, heard about the natural painkilling properties of capsaicin, the oil found in hot peppers, she immediately thought of how it could help her mother, Brenda Martin, who has suffered severe chronic pain since she was injured in a car accident 20 years ago.

“The prescription drugs my mother takes to control the pain have bad side effects,” said Caitlin.

She started researching capsaicin, used as a pain reliever because of its ability to degenerate the endings of pain neurons. It has few side effects and no known drug interactions. Unfortunately, one of the major drawbacks of capsaicin is the painful burning sensation upon administration that precedes the pain-relief.

“When I heard about capsaicin, I realized that it could be a great natural alternative for my mother. That’s when I began to think about finding a way to ease the painful burning sensation associated with it.”

Her research had two parts: firstly establishing medicinal leeches as an invertebrate model for the research (rats having been ruled out on ethical grounds) and then finding a capsaicin mixture that reduces the initial burning sensation.

Working in the lab at London Health Sciences Centre under the guidance of her mentor Dr. Dwight Moulin, Caitlin found that leeches reacted to capsaicin with frequent, vigorous, whole-body length changes whereas in saline solution they hardly moved. Further experimentation revealed that an injection of sodium chloride solution beforehand reduced the leeches’ reaction to a topical application of capsaicin.

In her first foray into SABC competition, she had discovered an invertebrate model for pain along with a capsaicin admixture that reduces the initial burning sensation.

“I would definitely like to investigate this further,” said Caitlin, who has set her sights on a career in medical and biological science that combines research and practice.