While many high school students can navigate computers with ease, not many can say they’re had a major success using the Canadian SCINET supercomputing network.

In fact, Marshall Zhang, 16, a Grade 11 student at Richmond Hill’s Bayview Secondary School, this year used the massive computer system to find a new and potentially effective drug cocktail to treat cystic fibrosis.

Experts familiar with his work were impressed. The results were better than unexpected and demonstrated the usefulness of computational approaches for discovery of potential drug-like compounds.

“Marshall’s findings show that computational methods can drive the discovery of compounds (drugs), that may offer effective treatment for cystic fibrosis,” says mentor Dr. Christine Bear, a researcher at the Hospital for Sick Children’s Research Institute.

CF is a common, fatal genetic disease where the lungs’ normal protective coating of thin mucus becomes thick and sticky which is an inviting environment for serious and fatal bacterial infections. A genetic mutation is responsible for most cases of CF. Leading research currently in clinical trials suggests that specific drugs may help correct this defect. However no one knows exactly how this corrective mechanism works.

At Dr. Bear’s lab at Sick Kids, Marshall tasked himself with using sophisticated computer modelling on the SCINET to investigate what these drugs might be doing to ‘correct’ the genetic defect at the molecular level. On the computer, he identified how two drugs each interacted with one specific part of the mutant protein. He then proved his ‘virtual’ findings were correct using living cells in culture.

Marshall correctly suspected that using the two drugs together might prove to be even more effective because his work showed the drugs interacted with different parts of the mutant protein.

“The cells treated with the two drugs were functioning as if they were the cells of healthy individuals,” says Marshall.

“The thrill of knowing that I was on the forefront of current knowledge was absolutely the best thing about my experience in the sanofi-aventis Biotalent Challenge,” says Marshall, adding that the lab experience and “getting a taste of real research has definitely driven me towards a pursuing science in the future.”

“I think that Marshall has tremendous potential to be a scientist in the future because of his intelligence, motivation and determination,” adds Dr. Bear.

With the generous support of Merck & Co., Bioscience Education Canada is proud to partner with Ryerson University to present this free series of bioscience lectures and workshops for high school students. BEC also appreciates the participation of personnel from eight institutions of research or post-secondary education.

The Lecture and Workshop Series take place on Tuesday April 19th and Wednesday April 20th, 2011 in the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Ryerson University (245 Church Street). Map (Pass your mouse over a building for its description and photo.)

These annual youth outreach events have been very well attended in the past and it is important for teachers to register their classes early. Registration can be made by contacting Bioscience Education Canada at 416-640-0206 or at info@bioscienceeducation.ca

This year’s group of young investigators have researched topics as diverse as the genetic engineering of pathogen resistance in plants and the practicality of using fruit and vegetable extracts against H. pylori, the causative agent of ulcers. The SABC continues to offer a unique opportunity for curious and creative students to have a “graduate level” research experience under the guidance of professional scientists. Nineteen projects have advanced to the competition this year. The Toronto student teams will compete for $12,000 in cash prizes and scholarships at, Ryerson University on April 19 and 20, 2011. The national competition will be held in Ottawa later in May.

Please read the 2011 Merck Lecture Workshop Schedule and Outlines.

2011 Winners of the Sanofi Aventis BioTalent Challenge (Toronto)

First Place Winner

Marshall Zhang (Bayview Secondary School)
Mentors: Dr. Christine Bear, (Hospital for Sick Children) and Steven V. Molinski, (University of Toronto)

“Determining a potential basis for mechanisms of action of small molecules in the rescue of Delta F508-CFTR”

Award presented by Philippe Salphati, Vice-President, Commercial Operations, Sanofi Pasteur Limited

Second Place

Alexander Tigert and Zelun Daniel Zhang (Northern Secondary School)
Mentor: Dr.Corey Nislow, (University of Toronto)

“Optimizing Ethanol Production using UCP1-Transformed S. cerevisiae”

Award presented by Dr. Eleanor Fish, Senior Scientist, University, Health Network, University of Toronto

Third Place

“Identification of Ezrin as a Colonic Substrate for Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Sigma (PTPσ)”

Howard Feng
Bayview Secondary School
Mentors: Dr. Aleixo Muise, (Hospital for Sick Children), Mr. Ryan Murchie, (University of Toronto)

Fourth Place

“The Effect of Papain in inhibiting the growth of Helicobacter pylori in vitro”

Hareem Naveed and Yung lin Yang
Northern Secondary School
Mentors: Dr. Nicola Jones and Esther Galindo-Mata, (The Hospital for Sick Children)

Fifth Place

“Engineering Broad Spectrum Pathogen Resistance in Model Dicot Plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) Using Lr34 Orthologs and LTP Downstream Genes”

Jeremy Gungabeesoon and Seung Joon Kim
University of Toronto Schools
Mentor: Dr. Keiko Yoshioka, (University of Toronto)

Commercialization Award

“The Use of Nanocellulose in the Production of a Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)”

Adarsh Gupta and Samantha Pramanick
University of Toronto Schools
Mentor: Dr. Mohini Sain, Dr. Julasak Juntaro, (University of Toronto)

Best Project from New School Award

“Investigation of Hepadnaviridae (Hepatitis B Virus) Genotype and its Effect on Developing Clinical Treatments”

Paul Song and Akshay Lobo
Father Bressani Catholic High School
Mentor: Dr. Tony Mazzulli, (Mount Sinai Hospital)

The Sanofi Aventis BioTalent Challenge for the Greater Toronto region is coordinated by the Bioscience Education Canada.
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The 2010 Biotechnology Initiative Lectures and Merck Frosst ‘Exploring Minds’ Workshops

Once again, the TBI Explore Biotechnology lectures and Merck Frosst Exploring Minds workshops, held concurrently with the SABC competition, will be available free of charge, to high school classes accompanied by their teachers. The lectures and workshops are made available by the generous sponsorship of The Biotechnology Initiative and Merck Frosst respectively.

The TBI Lecture Series and Merck Frost’ Exploring Minds’ Workshops take place at York University on Tuesday April 6th and Wednesday April 7th, 2010. Venues include the Accolade West Building, and the Research Tower. The Merck Frosst Workshops take place in Room 280, York Lanes, adjacent to the York Research Tower.

Registration for these lectures must be done through the Bioscience Education Canada office at at 416-640-0206 – Email. We ask that you try to book your classes for two lectures and a workshop.

Program and Session Descriptors (pdf)

SABC 2010 GTA Winners

Colin Carter (Northern Secondary School, Toronto)

Teachers: Dr. Danielle Gauci/ Mr. Frank De Leo
Mentor: Dr. Rae Yeung (The Hospital for Sick Children)
_______________________________________________________________________

2nd Place

Alessia Manzoli, Megan Vellozo, and Lauren Moretto (St. Elizabeth Catholic High School, Thornhill)

Teachers: Mr. Phil Sax and Mrs. Seham Grove
Mentors: Dr. Mark Minden and Dr. Haytham Khoury (Ontario Cancer Institute / Princess Margaret Hospital) _______________________________________________________________________

3rd Place

Supritha Nilam (Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, St. Catharines)
Teacher: Mr. G. Hinton
Mentor: Dr. Jay Subramanian (University of Guelph-Vineland)
______________________________________________________________________

4th Place

Clarissa Samson, Jocelyn Micallef and Laura Caruso (St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School, Mississauga)

Teacher: Mr. Glen Kim
Mentors: Dr. Andrea McCart and Ms Ottolino-Perry (Toronto General Research Institute)
_______________________________________________________________________

5th Place

Li(Danny) Liang, Ashkan Parcham-Kashani, Rogerio Huang and Krishna Modi (Newtonbrook Secondary School, Toronto)

Teacher: Mrs. Simone Labi-Han
Mentors: Dr. Herman Yeger and Dr. Roula Antoon (The Hospital for Sick Children)
_______________________________________________________________________

Award for Best from New School

Supritha Nilam (Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, St. Catharines)

Teacher: Mr. Gerry Hinton
Mentors: Dr. Jay Subramanian (University of Guelph-Vineland)
_______________________________________________________________________

Award for Best Commercialization Potential

Adarsh Gupta and Samantha Pramanick (University of Toronto Schools, Toronto)
Teacher: Ms. Meg O’Mahony
Mentors: Dr. Mohini Sain, Ms. Crystal Wu and Dr. Julasak Juntaro (University of Toronto)
_______________________________________________________________________

E-Application system for SABC 2011 Proposals will be open on June 1st 2010.

Get an early start.

You can find the required headings for the 1,200 word body of your proposal by looking at the Proposal Development Page.

Mailing address:
c/o Regional SABC Coordinator
Bioscience Education Canada
700 Bay Street, Suite 2303, PO Box 167
Toronto, ON M5G 1Z6
T & F: 416-640-0206
bioscienceeducation.ca
For further information, contact the Toronto Regional Coordinator, Tony Legault, at tony.legault@bioscienceeducation.ca

Past Greater Toronto Sanofi Biotalent Challenge Winners and Events

Greater Toronto SABC finalist Colin Carter has long been intrigued by the human immune system. And this year’s competition gave him the opportunity to conduct leading-edge research at Toronto’s famed Hospital for Sick Children on a challenging auto-immune disease called Kawasaki Disease.

In auto-immune diseases, the body attacks itself because it can’t tell the difference between harmful invaders and its own cells.

Kawasaki Disease (also known as lymph node syndrome) causes a massive inflammation around the blood vessels near the heart in children under age five and can cause heart attacks.

Named for the Japanese researcher who first described it in 1967, causes of the disease is not well understood. Colin worked with Dr. Rae Yeung, a University of Toronto Associate Professor of Pediatrics, to tease out some answers.

“We believe Kawasaki Disease is caused by a super-antigen, a molecule that triggers an extreme immune response,” says the Grade 12 student at Northern Secondary School. Such powerful antigens attack viruses and other pathogens but are supposed to die before causing harm to the body. Colin’s project tested and verified that a specific molecule called the TLR2 ligand may be reactivating the super-antigen, provoking the dangerous immune response Kawasaki Disease.

“(Colin’s) findings help define the signaling pathway involved in immune activation and cross-talk between the innate and adaptive immune response,” says Dr. Yeung. In addition Colin improved the lab’s cell screening system making it faster and “will speed the pace of discovery,” he says.

Colin, who undertook the research project on his own time after school and on weekends, says “the opportunity to present the work I had done in the past two years has been really exhilarating.”

And the SABC experience confirmed a passion for scientific research. “The stimulating work environment, sense of community, and that fact that research is the crux behind keeping people alive – these are all thing that contribute to that interest and passion.”

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

* * * * *

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

Once again, the TBI Explore Biotechnology lectures and Merck Frosst Exploring Minds workshops, held concurrently with the SABC competition, will be available free of charge, to high school classes accompanied by their teachers. The lectures and workshops are made available by the generous sponsorship of The Biotechnology Initiative and Merck Frosst respectively.

The TBI Lecture Series and Merck Frost “Exploring Minds” Workshops take place at York University on Tuesday April 6th and Wednesday April 7th, 2010. Venues include the Accolade West Building, and the Research Tower. The Merck Frosst Workshops take place in Room 280, York Lanes, adjacent to the York Research Tower.

Registration for these lectures must be done through the Bioscience Education Canada office at at 416-640-0206 – Email. We ask that you try to book your classes for two lectures and a workshop.

Program and Session Descriptors (pdf)

Using Ultrasound to ‘See’ if Cancer Treatments Are Working

Three Thornhill students have successfully used ultrasound to detect cancer cells, opening the door to a new, inexpensive cancer diagnosis tool.

“We wanted to find an alternative way of detecting effectiveness of cancer treatments that would be non-invasive,” said 17-year old Ellie.

Their hope was to find a non-invasive way to monitor the effectiveness of cancer cell-killing drugs. After culturing some leukemia cells they treated them with known cancer cell-killing drugs said Hans. Using a high-frequency ultrasound they imaged the cells and discovered that the dead cancer cells produced a brighter image than the living cells. This correlation between the percentage of dead cells (after being treated with a cancer-killing drug) and the brightness of the ultrasound image generated, provides initial evidence for a useful tool in cancer treatment they concluded.

In future their technique could be used to provide a new window into the effectiveness of a patient’s cancer treatment by quickly, and without biopsies, revealing if the cancer cells are dying. If not, the patient could alter dosages or change drugs in hopes of a better result, said Alessandro.

“My grandfather recently passed away from terminal stomach cancer but, because he lived in another country, I was not able to be there for the family when he passed away. Researching a field related to cancer gives me closure,” said Ellie.

“We all have had friends or family that have had cancer in the past, and we would have really liked to contribute to research pertaining to oncology,” said Alessandro.

All three students plan science-related studies in university: Alessandro, life sciences; Ellie, psychology; Hans, engineering.

“One of the most important things we learned was the value of patience…quite often it is necessary to repeat a trial or a part of an experiment in order to receive sufficient data,” said Alessandro.

Ground-breaking research by three Grade 12 students from St. Elizabeth Catholic High School has earned the first place prize in the 2009 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) in the Greater Toronto region.

“High Frequency Ultrasound Analysis of Apoptosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells in Vitro”

Alessandro Caroti, Ellie Shuo Jin, and Hans Tee
St. Elizabeth Catholic High School

The students’ research demonstrated that high frequency ultrasound could be used to test the effectiveness of a cancer therapy drug by detecting cell death in leukemia cells. This would be a relatively quick, non-invasive diagnostic technique enabling doctors to alter the drug type and/or concentration to provide more effective treatment and minimize side effects.

2nd place:

Giulia Pizzuto, Amanda Carroccia, Giordana Cortese, Maurice Pasternak
St. Elizabeth Catholic High School

This project involved the genetic analysis of strains of flu that were prevalent in 2008 and how they were related to drug resistance. These observations could be used to predict areas within the viral genome that provide a greater ability of a virus to be resistant to the anti-viral drug, oseltamivir.

3rd place:

Juliana Xie,
Earl Haig Secondary School, North York

Juliana’s research investigated ways of using sediment microbial fuel cells to treat organic waste and produce electricity as a byproduct. This technology has the potential to provide a clean source of energy from waste products. The highlight of this project was the simplicity of the materials needed to make the fuel cell.

In addition, Juliana’s project was awarded the prize for having the Greatest Commercialization Potential.

4th place:

Fiona Haxho,
Northern Secondary School

This project investigated the role of two special proteins in kidney development and how they interact with one another. This work related to common human renal disorders and is important in determining the process of proper kidney development.

5th place:

Iman Ashali, Jonathan Boss and Ashley Di Meo,
St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School

The project researched of the potential effects of using an obsolete pharmaceutical drug in the treatment of cancer. The research showed that this drug affected the ability of a wide variety of cancerous cells to divide and has potential to be a candidate for future clinical trials.

The prize for the “Best Project From a School New to The Competition” was awarded to Tessa Karunakaran, l’école secondaire catholique Monseigneur-de-Charbonnel, Thornhill.

“Effect of Hormones on Angiogenesis”

Her project involved the investigation of epinephrine, a hormone produced during stress on angiogenesis, which is the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones.

Once again, Bioscience Education Canada is collaborating with the faculty of the School of Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry, Seneca College to offer free biotechnology lectures and workshops for high school students in the Greater Toronto Area. The lectures and workshops are made available by the generous sponsorship of The Biotechnology Initiative and Merck Frosst respectively.

This year�s events are being held on April 14th and 15th in the Macleod Auditorium and the Stone Lobby of the Medical Sciences Building at the University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8.

The lectures and workshops will be available free of charge, to high school classes accompanied by their teachers. Registration for the lectures and workshops must be done through the Bioscience Education Canada office at 416-673-8471 (info@bioscienceeducation.ca) and will be on a first to register basis. (Seating capacity in the auditorium for lectures is 500. Space in the workshops is limited to 90 per session.)
Lecture and Workshop Program