A pair of Grade 12 students from Three Oaks High School are headed to Canada’s National Biotech Competition thanks to winning research at the 2010 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) on Prince Edward Island, says Innovation and Advanced Learning Minister Allan Campbell.
“Every year, this contest allows some of the most gifted high school scientists to carry out very interesting research with the assistance of mentors from the Island’s biotechnology sector,” Minister Campbell said. “The work being carried out offers a lot of young Islanders the chance to see the opportunity for both careers and learning in biotech.”
The Island’s 2010 SABC competition was held April 16 at UPEI.
First prize was won by Scott Dewar and Mark Townsend who looked at the relationship between the chemical makeup of pin-cherry trees and their resistance to the blackknot fungus. The pair, who won fourth place in the 2009 SABC competition, will go to national competition April 26. The students will split a $2,500 prize.
Scott Dewar and Mark Townsend’s project also won the event’s $1,000 commercialization prize.
Both plan to attend Dalhousie University next year and to study engineering and biotechnology.
Prizes were also awarded to the following:
• Second place, $2,000 – Sarah Neima, Colonel Grey High School – Integrated system for the production of microalgal biodiesel.
• Third Place, $1,500 – Emma Trivett, Charlottetown Rural High School – Avermectin iInteractions with P-Glycoprotein.
• Fourth Place, $1,000 – Scott Bray, Josh, Derasp and Adam A’Hearn, Three Oaks High School – Effects of fecal production from mussels on the Island fisheries industry.
• The School Appreciation Prize of $2,000 went to Three Oaks High School.
Under the SABC contest, high school students work with mentors to carry out research projects of the student’s own design. The SABC contest has been held on Prince Edward Island since 2005.
BACKGROUNDER
Three Oaks Students Win Biotech Research Competition
Now in its 16th 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 Prince Edward Island since 2005.
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 $500 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.
More than 100 organizations across Canada are partnered in this educational outreach initiative.
Regional competition sponsors include:
Innovation PEI
PEI Dept. of Innovation and Advanced Learning
PEI Dept. of Education and Early Childhood Development
University of Prince Edward Island
Atlantic Veterinary College
National Research Council – Institute for Nutrisciences & Health
Prince Edward Island Food Technology Centre
PEI BioAlliance
Holland College
Phyterra Bio
National competition supporters include:
Sanofi pasteur
Sanofi aventis
BioTalent Canada
The National Research Council of Canada
Genome Canada
Canadian Institutes for Health Research
Canada Foundation for Innovation
The project is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.
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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, Ext. 226, coletter@biotalent.ca