“The awards celebrate outstanding partnerships that have a significant impact on the communities in which they operate,” said Michael Bloom, Vice-President, Organizational Effectiveness and Learning.

The awards were announced on April 28 at the 10th International Education Business Partnership Conference in Toronto.

2nd Place:Allan Kang, Amit Persad, and Hannah Yu from Old Strathcona Academic High School won the $1,500 second place prize for their project which studied “The role of PTEN/PI-3K pathway in the regulation of subcellular levels and distribution of beta-Catenin”. They were mentored by Dr. Sujata Persad from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta.

3rd Place: Kiho Son and Ty Kim from Old Strathcona Academic High School placed third and won the $1,000 cash prize for their project: “How about NO? The effect of estrogen on nitric oxide production in mast cells and their role in allergic disease”. Kiho and Ty were mentored by Dr. Dean Befus and Christopher St. Laurent from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, University of Alberta.

4th Place: The 4th place prize of $750 was awarded to Michael Meiers and Keita Hill from Old Strathcona Academic High School. Michael and Keita worked with Dr. Ken Cadien from the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta on “Optimizing the Use of Organic Pigments in a Biological Solar Panel”. They also won the Most Commercially Viable award and $250 cash prize

5th Place: $500 for fifth place was awarded to Katarina Ondrusova from Old Strathcona Academic High School for her project examining the “Cardioprotective action of lyophilized red wine, white wine, and grape juice extracts by inhibition of matrix metalloprotinease-2″. She was mentored by Dr. Richard Schulz (Departments of Pediatrics & Pharmacology) and Dr. Andrew Holt (Department of Pharmacology) at the University of Alberta.

Best Elevator Pitch: The $250 award for the best elevator pitch was awarded to Katherine Fu, Andrew Qi, and Jenny Shi from Old Strathcona Academic High School. Their project was entitled “Generating the scientific rationale for therapeutic potential of induced pluripotent stem cells for lung diseases” and they were mentored by Dr. Bernard Thebaud and Lavinia Coltan from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta.

Brian Krug
Project Title: Catechin’s anti-angiogenic effects in epithelial ovarian cancer
Grade 11
John F. Ross CVI, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Jim Petrik
The University of Guelph

2nd place:
$2000 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Grace Wang
Project Title: Discovering the Role of ERK5 in Inhibiting Breast Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion
Grade 10
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Chandan Chakraborty
The University of Western Ontario

3rd place:
$1,250 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Linda Zhu and Jessica Zou
Project Title: Engineering of LEA Genes to Investigate Enhanced Salt Tolerance
Grades 12 and 11
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Steven Rothestein
The University of Guelph

4th place:
$750 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Nykole Crevits
Project title: Evaluation of Methylene Blue and Related Compounds for the Treatment of Huntington’s Disease
Grade 12
Parkside Collegiate Institute, St. Thomas, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Robert Cumming
The University of Western Ontario

5th place:
$500 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Jenny Tian and Leslie Bothwell
Project title: Relation of Total Resistant Starch Concentration in Potatoes
Grade 12
Centennial Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Rickey Yada
The University of Guelph

Award of Distinction – Commercial Potential:
Sponsored by Ontario Centres of Excellence

Grace Wang
Project Title: Discovering the Role of ERK5 in Inhibiting Breast Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion
Grade 10
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Chandan Chakraborty
The University of Western Ontario

Award of Distinction – Poster Display:

Tony Kwon
Project title: Allium sativum as a Potential Antimicrobial Against Group A Streptococcal Infections
Grade 12
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. John McCormick
The University of Western Ontario

To see photos from the Regional Competition that took place on Friday, April 16 please click here

He enjoyed 3 great days of meeting other young scientists from across Canada, federal politicians such as the Honourable James Flaherty, Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour, and many high ranking researchers and executives. Breakfast at Parliament and a private tour of the Canada Museum of Science and Technology was also provided.

The competition was held April 26 at the National Research Centre on Sussex Drive. Bin was competing with other top students from 14 regions across Canada. His project is called “Association between Genetic Variations in Fatty Acid Desaturase Genes and the Ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 Fatty Acids in Flax”. This study, with it’s novel approach to flax genetic modification, may have great significance to human health and to Canada’s Agriculture Industry.

Bin “did Manitoba proud” again this year,finishing in the top 5 of 14 competing research projects to continue his great high school science career. Bin’s winnings of $1,000 will help him when he attends the University of Manitoba next year to continue his studies.

Congratulations Bin!

For release: 1 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 27, 2010
At 1 p.m. EDT, Tuesday April 27, Canada’s top student projects in biotechnology research will be announced at National Research Council headquarters, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. Media are invited to attend the announcement in person or via teleconference (dial 1-303-664-6043, conference ID 8309014). Short, informal descriptions of each project are available online at http://sanofibiotalentchallenge.ca

• Youngest-ever finalist at national level event takes 1st Place Prize
• Students from Saskatoon, Guelph, Fort St. John, Ste-Foy, Winnipeg and Ottawa collect prizes in Canada-wide high school competition
• Judged by eminent experts at National Research Council, Ottawa

Research by a 14-year-old science prodigy from Saskatoon into the molecular fingerprint of a disease that has devastated lentil crops in Canada, Asia and Africa has earned the top national prize of the 2010 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC).

Grade 9 student Rui Song, the youngest-ever national finalist in the event’s 17-year history, “astonished” nine judges at Canada’s National Research Council with her search for an early way to tell apart two strains of a crop-killing fungus, one strain of which can wipe out half a farmer’s lentil harvest if left unrecognized and untreated.

In addition to the Canadian prizes, Rui and the SABC’s national 2nd place winner, Brian Krug, 16, of Guelph, Ontario, will compete against 12 US and two Australian teams at the International BioGENEius Challenge in Chicago next week.

Brian, a Grade 11 student at John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute, won the 2nd place prize for his project that found a green tea extract offered a potential new treatment for ovarian cancer.

The national final SABC winners were announced at National Research Council Canada headquarters, Ottawa, April 27, at a ceremony attended by the Hon. James Flaherty, Minister of Finance, the Hon. Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour, and other dignitaries.

First and second place winners receive $5,000 and $4,000 respectively.

The other top prizes were collected by:

• 3rd place ($3,000): Katherine Taneille Johnson, 17, a Grade 12 student at North Peace Secondary School in tiny Fort St. John, for a project deciphering DNA mutations that may lie behind an early aging disease.
• 4th place ($2,000): Alexandre Lemieux, 16, of Externat Saint-Jean-Eudes, and Reda Bensaidane, 16, École Secondaire Les Compagnons-de-Cartier, Ste-Foy QB, for a project showing how a coffee extract offers a potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease.
• 5th place ($1,000): Binudith Warnakulasooriya, 17, a Grade 12 student from Fort Richmond Collegiate, Winnipeg, whose project unlocked the DNA of flaxseed to create potential for healthier food. It is Binudith’s second consecutive year as a national SABC prizewinner.

A special prize ($1,000), awarded for the project with the greatest commercial potential, was won by 16-year-old Grade 10 student Emma Graham of Lisgar Collegiate Institute, Ottawa, who used Indian dill oil to create a more environmentally-friendly insecticide to combat potato beetles.

Fingerprinting a crop-killing fungus
At just 14, Rui Song has become a fixture on the winners’ list in the Saskatchewan regional SABC.

While still at Greystone Heights Public School, she won the Junior Division twice – in 2008 and 2009 – and the streak continued this year, Rui’s Grade 9 year at Walter Murray Collegiate Institute.

Her winning project was an effort to find molecular markers that can tell the difference between two closely related types of the fungus Colletotrichum truncate (Ct), that attacks lentil crops.

Though almost identical genetically, one type attacks lentils far more aggressively, causing 50% losses in some areas. The disease has destroyed crops in many countries beyond Canada, including Bangladesh, Syria, and Ethiopia.

A genetic method of differentiating the two types will save time and money for agricultural researchers, allowing rapid evaluation of lentil fields to warn farmers about the race of Ct in their area, while assisting efforts to develop resistant lentil varieties.

Rui said that while her project did not uncover the definitive identifier that solves the Ct riddle, her research into 50 of the 2,000 potential genetic markers provided a promising direction for more detailed research in future.

And for Rui Song, there’s always next year. “I love the field of molecular genetics and this competition provides a unique opportunity for someone like me to do high-level research guided by mentors who are some of the best minds in their field.”

During her presentation Monday, Rui charmed judges with an admission that she’d read “Genetic Engineering for Dummies.”

And she told her hometown newspaper, the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix: “I think many people think of science as … I don’t know, easy. What I learned from this project is that you have to be patient, it’s not like putting in a chemical and something explodes. In the lab, the most important thing is to understand why you’re doing something.”

14 truly cutting-edge biotechnology projects
“All 14 to 17 years old and enrolled in Grades 9 through 12, remarkable students from every province yesterday presented 14 truly cutting-edge biotechnology projects. They were mentored by university professors and others who volunteer their expertise and many hours each year to assist these young researchers,” said SABC judge Dr. Roman Szumski, NRC Vice President, Life Sciences.

“The National Research Council of Canada welcomes and supports efforts such as this to raise public awareness, especially among students and educators, about emerging sciences and to encourage more students to consider careers in biotechnology science. I extend sincere congratulations to everyone involved in this competition.”

Dr. Szumski also thanked lead competition supporters, Sanofi Pasteur Limited and BioTalent Canada for helping foster an appreciation of science and engineering education.

* * * * *

All national competition finalists (the projects are informally described at http://sanofibiotalentchallenge.ca):

• Newfoundland: Zachary Quinlan, Andrew Lynch, 17, Bishops College High School, St. John’s, who found a drug used to prevent organ transplant rejection may help ex-soldiers with stress disorder;
• Prince Edward Island: Scott Dewar, and Mark Townsend, both 17 in Grade 12 at Three Oaks High School, Summerside, who worked to unravel the black knot problem – scourge of cherry trees;
• Nova Scotia: Adrian Howie, 17, Citadel High School, Halifax, who went searching for medical uses of Arctic algae before they disappear due to climate change;
• New Brunswick: Sarah Sullivan, Elleas ‘Lee’ Nicholas, 17, Southern Victoria High School, Perth Andover, who discovered that carbon emitted from potatoes helps grow oily “pond scum” biofuel;
• Quebec: Alexandre Lemieux, 16, of Externat Saint-Jean-Eudes, and Reda Bensaidane, 16, École Secondaire Les Compagnons-de-Cartier, Ste-Foy, who for a coffee extract offers new potential treatment for Alzheimer’s;
• Eastern Ontario: Emma Graham, 16, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, Ottawa, who used dill oil to create a less toxic insecticide;
• Greater Toronto: Colin Carter, 17, Northern Secondary School, Toronto, whose work opens the door to new diagnosis and early treatment of child heart disease
• Southwestern Ontario: Brian Krug, 16, John F. Ross C.V.I., Guelph, who discovered a green tea extract offers a potential new treatment for ovarian cancer
• Manitoba: Binudith Warnakulasooriya, 17, Fort Richmond Collegiate, Winnipeg, who worked to unlock the DNA of flaxseed to create potentially healthier food;
• Northern Manitoba: Taylor Henkelman, 15, Swan Valley Regional Seconary School, Swan Valley, who found that oil from an invasive “weed” shows promise as transformer lubricant;
• Saskatchewan: Rui Song, 14, Walter Murray Collegiate Institute, Saskatoon, who is looking to genetically fingerprint a lentil-killing fungus that can devastate crops;
• Edmonton: Moses Fung, 17, Old Scona Academic High School, Edmonton, who’s working towards the improved treatment of lung disease;
• Calgary: Nicholas Moore, 17, Western Canada High School, and Debbie Wang, 17, Bishop Carroll High School, who developed a potential new tool to assess nerve damage; and
• British Columbia: Katherine Taneille Johnson, 17, North Peace Secondary School, Fort St. John, deciphering enzyme mutations that may lie behind early aging disorder

* * * * *

Chaired by Dr. Luis Barreto, Vice President, Immunization and Science Policy, Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the distinguished national judging panel consists of:

• Dr. Roman Szumski, Vice President, Life Sciences, National Research Council Canada
• Dr. Denis Kay, Board of Directors, BioTalent Canada
• Dr. Prabhat D. (Pete) Desai, Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, Genome Canada
• Dr. Mark Lagacé, Senior Programs Officer, Canada Foundation for Innovation
• Dr. Marc Ouellette, Scientific Director, Institute of Infection and Immunity, CIHR
• Dr. John Dirks, President, The Gairdner Foundation
• Dr. Lesley Warren, Professor, Biogeochemistry, McMaster University
• Mr. Scott Adams, 2009 SABC national 1st place winner, Saskatchewan

Background
Now in its 17th year, 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.

University-level mentoring is a distinguishing characteristic of the competition, as is the emphasis judges place on the ability of competitors to communicate science ideas.

The competition drives students to broaden their horizons and challenge their intellect. Each of the student teams work with a mentor in their community who provides expert advice and access to equipment and supplies. Many of the students who compete go on to careers in biotechnology, healthcare, agriculture, and the environment.

More than 100 organizations Canada-wide are partnered in this educational outreach initiative.

National competition supporters:

• Sanofi Pasteur and sanofi-aventis
• BioTalent Canada
• National Research Council of Canada
• Genome Canada
• Canadian Institutes for Health Research; and
• Canadian Foundation for Innovation

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

Winning student teams share their cash prize with their school. In some cities, regional winners also receive university scholarships or summer jobs.

The competition mirrors the real world of scientific research by:

• Requiring students to submit research proposals for evaluation by a scientific evaluation committee;
• Providing up to $200 in advance funding to approved student projects;
• Assigning mentors to each team to provide expert advice and access to equipment and supplies; and
• Having each student project judged by fellow students (peer review) and by judges representing government, business, academia and the education community.

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

Many regional competition events include lectures by leading local biotechnology researchers, science workshops for students and teachers, and exhibits on biotechnology.
* * * * *

About Sanofi Pasteur and sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone.

Sanofi-aventis is represented in Canada by the pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis Canada Inc., based in Laval, Quebec, and by the vaccines company Sanofi Pasteur Limited, based in Toronto, Ontario. Together they employ more than 2,000 people across the country. With combined R&D investments of $181.6 million in 2009, they are leaders in Canada’s biopharmaceutical sector, a critical knowledge-based industry that generates jobs, business and opportunity throughout the country.

Sanofi Pasteur has a long history of supporting science education at the post-secondary level in Canada. In 1994, it recognized the need to engage younger students in biotechnology education, and the initial SABC program was born. Since then, the program has expanded to 14 events across Canada and has involved thousands of students. As lead sponsors of the SABC, sanofi pasteur and sanofi-aventis is proud to collaborate with partners in government, industry and academia to get high school students engaged in biotechnology. For more information: www.sanofi-aventis.ca or www.sanofipasteur.ca

About BioTalent Canada
BioTalent Canada helps Canada’s bio-economy industry thrive globally. As a non-profit national organization of innovators leading our bio-economy, BioTalent Canada anticipates needs and creates new opportunities, delivering human resources tools, information and skills development to ensure the industry has access to job-ready people. BioTalent Canada is a Canadian sector council—one of many partnership organizations created to address skills-development issues in key sectors of the economy. For more information: www.biotalent.ca or Colette Rivet, Executive Director, BioTalent Canada 613-235-1402 x 226; coletter@biotalent.ca

Like many cancers, ovarian cancer involves the inexplicable runaway growth of blood vessels and cells. Finding a way to slow or stop that runaway growth is something that fascinated and challenged Guelph’s Brian Krug.

After extensive review of scientific literature, Brian learned that catechin, a plant compound found in green tea, is known to inhibit cell growth and has had some positive results on other cancers.

Brian tested the effectiveness of various concentrations of catechin on rats with ovarian cancer. After careful measurements of the tumours, blood vessels and other indicators, he discovered the highest doses of catechin increased the growth of cancer cells, something which had not been seen before.

“I was very surprised to learn that high doses of catechin could have opposite effects from low doses in regards to blood vessel growth,” he says.

However he did determine that lower doses — 20 mg of catechin per kg of body weight (one fifth of the highest doses tested) — do indeed have preventative effects for ovarian cancer and could be useful in the treatment of advanced tumors.

Destined for medical research, Brian says the competition has been an excellent preparation for university and a future career in research.

While still at Greystone Heights Public School, she won the Junior Division twice – in 2008 and 2009 – and the streak continued this year, Rui’s Grade 9 year at Walter Murray Collegiate Institute.

Her winning project was an effort to find molecular markers that can tell the difference between two closely related types of the fungus Colletotrichum truncate (Ct), that attacks lentil crops.

Though almost identical genetically, one race attacks lentils far more aggressively, causing 50% losses in some areas.

A genetic method of differentiating the two races will save time and money for agricultural researchers, allowing rapid evaluation of Saskatchewan lentil fields to warn farmers about the race of Ct in their area, while assisting efforts to develop resistant lentil varieties.

Rui said that while her project did not uncover the definitive identifier that solves the Ct riddle, her research into 50 of the 2,000 potential genetic markers provided a promising direction for more detailed research in future.

And for Rui Song, there’s always next year. “I love the field of molecular genetics and this competition provides a unique opportunity for someone like me to do high-level research guided by mentors who are some of the best minds in their field.”

That’s motivation enough for two science prodigies from Ste. Foy to test a new treatment based on a coffee extract called SIG 1012.

One cause of Alzheimer’s is thought to be an excess of phosphate attached to a protein that forms an important part of brain and nerve tissue.

Through a series of complex tests, Reda Bensaidane and Alexandre Lemieux, both 16, determined that the coffee extract reduced the amount of phosphate attached to the proteins, opening the door to a potential new Alzheimer’s treatment.

Challenges were many: Alex and Reda attend different schools (Jean-Eudes and École Secondaire Les Compagnons-de-Cartier, respectively), and a 30-minute drive separates their homes.

One of the best parts of SABC was the judging process, they said, and the opportunity to discuss their projects with experts in the field. “The questions they ask are really interesting and sometimes lead to discussions where there is no good or bad answer,” says Reda.

Both teens say they are destined for careers in medicine or medical research. “This experience gave us a heads up to what is waiting for us. And we love it.”