2009
SABC09 Manitoba: Senior Projects by Schools
SABC09 Manitoba: Intermediate Projects by Schools
SABC09 Manitoba: Junior Projects by Schools
Research on Flax Phytoestrogens Wins Grade 11 City Student Binudith Warnakulasooria Entry to National Biotech Competition
Outstanding research by a 16 year-old Winnipeg student at Fort Richmond Collegiate that could lead to improved health benefits from this common crop has earned the first place prize in the 2009 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) in the Manitoba region.
Grade 11 student Binudith Warnakulasooria won the $2000 cash prize with a study into important health chemicals produced by Flax and will travel to Ottawa to compete in the national SABC competition May 5, to be judged by a panel of experts at the National Research Council. The national winners will be announced at a ceremony in Ottawa on May 6.
He worked on genes in the common Flax plant which produce “lignans”, (nutritional chemicals found in flax that can have major health benefits for humans) The object of his research is to “find out the flax genes responsible for producing lignans and use that to figure out the optimal genetic set up to produce the highest level of lignans in flax.” He hopes that the “data gathered from my experiment could be used to genetically engineer flax plants that produce higher lignans here in the prairies.”
Cash prizes were also awarded to:
2nd place; $1500 to Juliet Daet of St Mary’s Academy in Winnipeg for her project examining biochemical means of fighting breast cancer.
3rd place : $1000 for Beth Ferreira of Fort Richmond Collegiate in Fort Garry. Beth’s project continues her ground-breaking work in studying pollution levels in arctic seals through chemically analysing their claws.
4th place $750 awarded to Alyssa Verrelli from St Mary’s Academy for her research in diabetes. Alyssa looked at how nerve cells of diabetics may lose their ability to take in the hormone Insulin.
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5th place : $500 to Ryan Murphy from Fort Richmond Collegiate for his continuing research into the many potential benefits of Manitoba-grown garlic.
At the regional announcement ceremony, Dr Francis Amara warned the students to never think that their research is the most important. He emphasized that science is a collaborative endeavor, and each new truth adds to the collective knowledge of all of us. and can lead us in unexpected and exiting new directions.
Encouraged by his teacher Kathy Crang, and under the guidance of mentors Sylvie Cloutier of the Agriculture Canada Cereal Grains Research Centre, and Veronique Barthet of the Canadian Grain Commission
“The Manitoba government is a strong supporter of encouraging more students to consider careers in biotechnology,” said Magda Byma of Manitoba Science, Technology, Energy and Mines.
Winnipeg Student wins Ottawa Bronze at National Biotechnology Science Event!
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