Ground-breaking research by 17 and 18-year-old Summerside, Prince Edward Island students that contributes to the global search for ways to solve PAH Contamination. PAH contamination takes place when oil spills occur. Many different compounds are released into the environment. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are among those of greatest concern because of their ability to bioaccumulate and carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic properties. This project has earned top regional prize in the 2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC).
Grade 12 students Samuel Mundy and Hardy Strom won the top $2,500 regional prize with a study into Identification of Local Fungi Capable of Survival on PAH's and will compete for Summerside, PEI at the national SABC competition May 9, to be judged by a panel of experts at the National Research Council, Ottawa. The national winners will be announced at a ceremony in Ottawa, Tuesday, May 10.
They found several species worth investigating: Hypocrea lixii, Hypocrea SP, Hypocreales SP. 011, Acremonium mumorum, Tricoderma hamatium, and Emercilliopsis maritima. The next step in the research would be to assess the ability of the fungi to actually break down PAH, or similar molecules, using dyed gel plates.
The top regional runners-up:
2nd place ($2,000):
Caleigh Aitken, Megan Arsenault and Brooke Drover, Montague Regional High School, Montague for a project that looked at Neuroprotective Properties of Natural and Synthetic Food Dyes.
3rd place ($1,500):
Matthew and Kristopher Rice, Three Oaks Senior High, Summerside for a project that seeks to Evaluate Maltodextrin as a Drying Carrier for Cranberry Puree. Matthew and Kristopher also won the “Commercialization Award” and a prize of $1,000.
4th place ($1,000):
Jenna Gaudet and Ylber Gashi, Three Oaks Senior High, Summerside for a project that seeks a way for Neem and Tea Tree Oils to act as Natural Treatments for Verticillium dahlia.
5th place ($750):
Andrew Trivett, Charlottetown Rural High School, Charlottetown for a project that looked into Compression Testing of Equine Third Metacarpal Bones.
At the regional announcement ceremony, Keith Tompkins, SABC Coordinator stated that, “This was the closest competition in the 7 year history of the program when it came to scoring, with the top 5 projects within just a few marks of each other.”
This was the first year for both Samuel and Hardy in the competition. They learned about the program through their advanced biology class and teacher Mr. Chris Higginbotham.
This year, Sam and Hardy were inspired by the work and support of their mentor Dr. David Overy, University of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Overy's lab is focusing on the discovery of natural products originating from marine fungi.
“The entire thing has just been wonderful. The best part was definitely the opportunity to work at such a high level more than what I'm used to. Every single day we were in the lab, it was as interesting as the last, it was all awesome,” says Sam.
Encouraged by Chris Higginbotham, teacher advisor and under the guidance of Dr. David Overy of the University of Prince Edward Island, Samuel and Hardy's project involved over 30 trips to the lab to carry out their research.
They expect the research to eventually find or have engineered a species of fungi and bacterium which can work together to break down petroleum, or even petroleum-based plastics or foams.
“It was really interesting to do actual research. To get a feel for what it's really like. So many high school "labs" are really just demonstrations of principles, this was very different,” says Hardy.
The students both plan to study science at university before moving on, and in Sam's case to study bioremediation, and eventually be back working in a lab environment.
“Phyterra Yeast Inc. is a strong supporter of 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,” said COO, Garth Greenham. Shona Whyte, who served as one of the judges stated “If I was a science teacher, I would most definitely advertise and encourage this in my school. I think this was a great opportunity for the students to experience what research can be like. The students in this competition represent some of the brightest young scientists in Canada and I congratulate them all on their outstanding achievements.”
The Provincial Government of Prince Edward Island, represented by S. Forrest (Bush) Dumville, MLA for District 15: West Royalty – Springvale, also thanked competition sponsors sanofi pasteur and BioTalent Canada for helping foster an appreciation of science and engineering education.
National Competition, Ottawa, May 9-10
All 14 regional winners become national finalists, who will present their projects for judging by federal public service and private sector experts at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Mon. May 9. The regional finalists are flown to Ottawa for the event.
At 1 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 10, Canada’s top student projects in biotechnology will be announced at National Research Council headquarters, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. Media are invited to hear the announcement live via teleconference: dial 1-303-664-6043, conference ID 8309014. Short, informal descriptions of each project are also available online at http://sanofibiotalentchallenge.ca/
Backgrounder
Now in its 18th 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.
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.
Regional competition sponsors:
• PEI Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning
• University of Prince Edward Island
• Atlantic Veterinary College
• PEI BioAlliance
• Innovation PEI
• Prince Edward Island Food Technology Centre
• PEI Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
• National Research Council Institute for Nutrisciences and Health
• Agriculture Agrifood Canada
• Holland College
• Phyterra Yeast Inc.
• Solarvest (PEI) Inc.
• Nautilus Bioscience
• Maritime Pulse Drying Inc.
National competition supporters:
• Sanofi aventis
• Sanofi pasteur
• BioTalent Canada
• National Research Council of Canada
• Genome Canada
• Canadian Institutes for Health Research
• the Canadian Louis Pasteur Foundation; and
• the Government of Canada's Sector Council Program.
The national competition offers top prizes ranging from $5,000 to $1,000 plus a special prize for the project deemed to have the greatest commercial potential.
Winning student teams share their cash prize with their school. In some cities, winning students 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.
For more information or to book an interview:
Regional coordinator Keith Tompkins
Phone: 902-439-3797 (mobile);
Email: ktompkins@edtechlabour.com
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, 613-235-1402
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.