Research on childhood autoimmune disease wins Grade 12 Toronto Student $2500, scholarships and entry to National Biotech Competition
April 12, 2010 by Tiffany
For release: Thursday, April 8, 2010
Innovative research that could lead to an improved treatment for a childhood autoimmune disease has earned a 17-year-old student from Northern Secondary School the first place prize in the 2010 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) in the Greater Toronto region.
Grade 12 student Colin Carter won the $2500 cash prize with a study of the disease mechanism of Kawasaki disease, a childhood autoimmune disorder of blood vessels. Colin’s insights into the how the disease progressed in an animal model may lead to earlier detection and intervention in the human disorder, that mainly affects children under five years of age.
Encouraged by teachers Dr. Danielle Gauci and Mr. Frank DeLeo and under the guidance of mentor Dr. Rae Yeung of The Hospital for Sick Children), Colin’s research involved almost a daily visits to the hospital laboratory.
The first prize also includes scholarships to either the University of Toronto, York University Ryerson or Seneca College. Later this month, Colin will travel to Ottawa to compete in the national SABC competition where his research will be to judged by a panel of experts at the National Research Council. The national winners will be announced at a ceremony in Ottawa on April 27.
At the awards ceremony in the MaRS Centre, Dr. Alison Symington of BioScience Education Canada and master of ceremonies commented, “There were several projects of exceptionally high quality this year and the judges had some difficulty choosing the top five.”
Cash prizes were also awarded to:
2nd place ($2,000):
Alessia Manzoli, Megan Vellozo, and Lauren Moretto, St. Elizabeth Catholic High School in Thornhill, for research that showed that an antiviral drug, already approved for use against hepatitis B, also has a destructive effect on leukemia cells. This suggests the possibility of further therapeutic use in humans.
3rd place ($1,500):
Supritha Nilam, a Grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in St. Catharines, for a project that showed that providing plants with antioxidant supplements improved their efficiency in using fertilizer and could possibly lead to reduced fertilizer requirements for crops. She also won the $500 award for the best project from a new school in the competition.
4th place ($1,250):
Clarissa Samson, Jocelyn Micallef and Laura Caruso, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga for a project that investigated the effectiveness of combinational viral and chemical therapy on breast cancer and colon cancer cell lines.
and
5th place ($1,000):
Li (Danny) Liang, Ashkan Parcham-Kashani, Rogerio Huang and Krishna Modi, of Newtonbrook Secondary School in Toronto for a project that investigated the effectiveness of combinatorial therapy using potential anti-cancer therapeutics derived from dietary sources such as fruits, vegetables and spices.
Best Commercialization Potential ($1000)
Adarsh Gupta and Samantha Pramanick of the University of Toronto School for their research on using natural cellulose fibers in producing substrates for electronic display systems and medical instruments requiring optical precision.
Background
Now in its 17th year, the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge is a high-level competition that introduces students to the real world of biotechnology by carrying out research projects of their own design. An SABC program has been held in the Greater Toronto area since 1994.
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.
Follow-up studies have found that many of the students who compete go on to careers in biotechnology, healthcare, agriculture, and the environment.
“As the program’s lead sponsor since its inception, Sanofi pasteur has been committed to encouraging more students to consider careers in biotechnology,” said Dr. Luis Barreto, Vice President of Immunization and Scientific Policy. “The students in this competition represent some of the brightest young scientists in Canada and I congratulate them all on their outstanding achievements.”
More than 100 organizations across Canada are partnered with sanofi pasteur and sanofi aventis in this educational outreach initiative.
Regional competition sponsors:
• University of Toronto
• York University
• Ryerson University
• Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
• The Biotechnology Initiative
National competition supporters:
• Sanofi pasteur
• Sanofi aventis
• BioTalent Canada
• the National Research Council of Canada
• Genome Canada
• the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and
• the Canada Foundation for Innovation
The project is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.
For more information or to book an interview, please contact
Tony Legault.
SABC Toronto coordinator,
289-242-8421,
tony.legault@cberc.ca
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About Sanofi Pasteur Limited and sanofi-aventis
Sanofi Pasteur Limited is the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis Group, the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Sanofi Pasteur Limited has a long history of supporting science education at the post-secondary level. In 1994, it recognized the need to engage younger students in biotechnology education, and the initial SABC program was run in conjunction with the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s first meeting in Canada. Since then, the program has expanded to 14 events across Canada and has involved thousands of students. As lead sponsor of the SABC, Sanofi Pasteur is proud to collaborate with partners in government, industry and academia to get high school students engaged in biotechnology. Sanofi Pasteur Limited is Canada’s only full-scale vaccine company, researching, developing and manufacturing in Canada a broad range of human vaccines. With over 1,000 highly-skilled employees, it is one of Canada’s oldest and largest biotech companies. For more information: www.sanofi-pasteur.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
Bioscience Education Canada appoints Program Director
May 4, 2008 by Tiffany
The Board of Directors of Bioscience Education Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Alison Symington as Program Director, effective July 7, 2008
A professor and program coordinator at Seneca College’s School of Biologicial Sciences and Applied Chemistry since 1998, Dr. Symington has worked as an associate of CBERC on such projects as the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge, the York Biotech Toolbox and several laboratory courses for high school teachers. She also consults to the private sector on quality, efficacy, and safety issues for the filing of submissions and interactions with regulatory agencies. Prior to that, Dr. Symington was a development scientist as sanofi pasteur, Canada’s leading vaccine research and manufacturing company.
“We are delighted that Alison is bringing her scientific expertise, teaching skills and enthusiastic interest in science outreach activities to the CBERC team,” said Mr. Jeff Graham, Chair of the Board. In her new role, Dr. Symington will be responsible for directing CBERC’s current programs and developing new initiatives to interest more young Canadians in careers in biotechnology.
CBERC is the only national non-profit charitable organization with a mandate to develop and operate science outreach programs in biotechnology for students, teachers and the general public. It is the founder and longstanding national program coordinator of the Sanofi Aventis BioTalent Challenge, a science competition for high school students across Canada begun in 1994.
For more information, please contact CBERC at 416-673-8471 or at info@bioscienceeducation.ca
Cancer battle hits home
June 5, 2007 by Tiffany
The loss of a childhood friend to leukemia helped set Ted Paranjothy on his course for a career in medicine. While in high school, he spent more than 2,000 hours doing volunteer research in a University of Manitoba laboratory. A project he designed led to the discovery of an anticancer agent, for which the university has filed a provisional patent application. He is also the first student to
win first place at the provincial, national and international levels of the Sanofi-Aventis Biotechnology Challenge. Last month, he became the first Canadian to win the $7,500 top prize at the Sanofi-Aventis International BioGENEius Challenge in Boston. In September, he begins his studies at the University of Manitoba, buoyed by the 2007 TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Outstanding Community Leadership, worth $60,000 over four years.
Globe and Mail June 5, 2007