• Top Student Biotech Projects from 14 City, Regional Contests
• In Final Canada-wide Competition Judged by Experts at NRC
• Results Announced 1 p.m. EDT Weds. May 6

Announcement of Canada’s top student projects in biotechnology will take place on a media teleconference from National Research Council headquarters, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 6.

To join the call, please dial 1-303-664-6043, conference ID 8309014.

The students are also available for individual interviews. Please contact Terry Collins at 416-538-8712 or 416-878-8712 to schedule a time.

Extraordinary teenage scientists from across Canada compete for top honours in the final national 2009 competition of the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge. Awards totaling $16,000, including a prize for the project with the most commercial potential, will be announced from the National Research Council, Ottawa, at 1 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 6. Finance Minister The Hon. Jim Flaherty and Industry Minister The Hon. Tony Clement will participate in the ceremony.

The finalists, presenting a range of cutting-edge science ideas, are winners of 14 SABC competitions held in:
* Newfoundland,
* Prince Edward Island,
* Nova Scotia,
* New Brunswick,
* Montreal,
* Eastern Ontario,
* Greater Toronto,
* Western Ontario,
* Manitoba,
* Northern Manitoba,
* Saskatchewan,
* Edmonton,
* Calgary and
* British Columbia.

Each winning regional project is described in brief below.

The Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge is a high-level event that introduces students to the real world of biotechnology by carrying out research projects of their own design. Each student team works with a mentor in their community, who provides expert advice and access to equipment and supplies. The projects and presentations are judged at the NRC by senior officials of the federal public service and private sector, and by the previous student winner of the SABC national competition.

A distinguishing characteristic of the competition is the emphasis judges place on the competitors’ communication of science ideas.

Chaired by Dr. Luis Barreto, Vice President, Public, Scientific and Medical Affairs, Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the distinguished national judging panel consists of:
* Dr. Roman Szumski, Vice President, Life Sciences, National Research Council Canada
* Dr. Martin Godbout, President, Genome Canada
* Dr. Janet Rossant, Chief of Research, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
* Dr. John Dirks, President, The Gairdner Foundation
* Dr. Peter Hackett, President & CEO, Alberta Ingenuity Fund
* Dr. Ashley O’Sullivan, Board of Directors, BioTalent Canada
* Dr. Alison Symington, Director of Programs, Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre
* Maria Merziotis, SABC’s National Winner in 2008, now a first-year student at the University of Ottawa.

National competition supporters:
* sanofi pasteur
* sanofi-aventis
* BioTalent Canada
* National Research Council of Canada
* Genome Canada
* Canadian Institutes of Health Research
* the Canada Foundation for Innovation; and
* the Canadian Louis Pasteur Foundation

The project is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.

Descriptions of the winning projects:
Newfoundland and Labrador
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Montreal
Eastern Ontario
Greater Toronto
Southwestern Ontario
Manitoba
Northern Manitoba
Saskatoon
Edmonton
Calgary
British Columbia

Contact: Terry Collins, 416-538-8712 or 416-878-8712