BioAtlantech and Science East are coordinating the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC). Each year, sanofi sponsors regional biotechnology competitions with the regional first place teams advancing to the national competition. The purpose of this program is to encourage Grade 10 to 12 students to design and carry out original experiments under the guidance of industry, university and government mentors. The SBCC is a really exciting way for students to learn what scientists do and to perform experiments where the answers are unknown and mistakes sometimes lead to amazing discoveries. Participating in the SBCC nurtures interest in the biological sciences, helps to shape the career paths for students and provides up to $6,000 in cash prizes which is shared between the winners and their schools.

This year, New Brunswick plays host to teams from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, PEI. The event will take place during the month of April 2012.

This year, the deadline for New Brunswick students to submit proposals is November 18th. This is the final deadline. Any project proposals submitted after Nov. 18 will not be accepted. Please make note of this. Teams interested in participating are encouraged to set their own deadlines that will allow them to submit their proposals on time.

New Brunswick proposals will be evaluation by a committee of professional scientists that will choose five projects that work with a mentor and represent New Brunswick at the Atlantic level. This decision will be made in the weeks following the November 18th deadline. Because of this early selection process teams should do their best to have a well-written and complete proposal submitted by the November 18th deadline. Tips and Guidelines to help with your proposal development can be found at How to develop a proposal

Camille Champigny, a Grade 10 student at the École l’Odysée in Moncton, New Brunswick, has always been good at science and she is very keen to make it a career.

Now she can lay claim at age 15 to having contributed to scientific knowledge about the health dangers of pesticides.

Camille’s science teacher Eric Landry introduced her to Dr. Luc Martin at the University of New Brunswick to give her a taste of a real working lab. Dr. Martin agreed about her potential and involved her in his research into male infertility.

“Infertility is a growing problem for men in industrialized countries as new generations of men have a significant decline in sperm count and quality compared to previous generations,” he says. He believes increasing exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) in plastics, paints, cleaning products, cosmetics — even in some food products — could be responsible for the decline.

Camille’s reaction: “I have a passion for the environment and people’s health, so I found Dr. Martin’s research very motivating,” she says. The project she proposed focuses on the interaction of pesticides in male reproductive functions.

Specifically, she tested the effects of carbaryl, a pesticide widely used in home gardens, on a group of cells from the testes called Leydig cells. These cells are responsible for producing testosterone – a hormone the body needs to make sperm.

She tried the carbaryl in a number of different concentrations and exposure times. Then she added a compound that caused any cells still alive to become fluorescent; the results were then read by a fluorometer.

Though the results were not what Camille expected – the carbaryl did not cause the cells to die in significant numbers – she and Dr. Martin say the experiment offered a great learning moment.

Eliminating exposure to carbaryl as a cause of cell death was a necessary and fundamental step in seeing how pesticides and other EDCs affect reproduction.

“Experiment is at the heart of the scientific process and Camille worked very hard on all aspects of the project,” Dr. Martin says.

And it involved a time-consuming series of procedures. Camille estimates she spent about six hours a week, but she had a great time.

“The best part was having access to the university labs and material,” she says, “It gave me hands on experience and an idea of what a career in research would be.”

The Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge

BioAtlantech and Science East are coordinating the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC). Each year, sanofi-aventis sponsors 14 Canadian regional biotechnology competitions with the regional first place teams advancing to the national competition. The purpose of this program is to encourage Grade 10 to 12 students to design and carry out original experiments under the guidance of industry, university and government mentors. The SABC is a really exciting way for students to learn what scientists do and to perform experiments where, unlike school science experiments, the answers are unknown and mistakes sometimes lead to amazing discoveries. Participating in the SABC nurtures interest in the biological sciences, and provides up to $6,000 in cash prizes which are shared between the winners and their schools.

This year’s competition was held at the Crowne Plaza Lord Beaverbrook Fredericton on April 20th and 21st. Congratulations to all our participants.

SABC New Brunswick 2011 Winners

1st place
Camille Champigny
École l’Odysée, Moncton New Brunswick
Viabilité des cellules de Leydig exposées au carbaryl
Teacher: Eric Landry
Mentor: Luc Martin – Université de Moncton

2nd place
Na Yeon Go
Riverview High School, Riverview New Brunswick
Silver Nanoparticles as a Possible Alternative to Antibiotic Use
Teacher: Tim Beatty
Mentor: Zhan Yang – Crandle University

3rd place
Sarah Sullivan, Elias Nicholas and Jordie Taylor
Southern Victoria High School, Perth-Andover New Brunswick
Carbon Dioxide Release from Microbial Activity in Soil
Teacher: Kristopher Gallagher
Mentor: David Wattie – Potato Research Centre

4th place
Mikayla Bolster, Victoria Bell and Markie Kilcollins
Southern Victoria High School, Perth-Andover New Brunswick
The Effects of Elevated CO2 Levels on Aphids Infesting Potato Plants
Teacher: Kristopher Gallagher
Mentor: David Wattie – Potato Research Centre

5th place
Caleb Bell and Jeseon Back
Bathurst High School, Bathurst New Brunswick
Cleaning Up the Facts on Hand Sanitization
Teacher: Stephen deVries
Mentor: Elena Connors

Commercialization Award
Farouk Selouani
École Marie-Esther, Shippagan New Brunswick
DiagnAssist: Outil d’aide au diagnostic du Cancer du sein
Teacher: Nadine Lebouthilier – Coastal Zones Research Institute
Mentor: Nadia Tchoukanova

All Other SABC NB 2011 Participants

Jared Valdron
Riverview High School, Riverview New Brunswick
Attempted Synthesis of Novel Antibiotics Using Nanoparticles
Teacher: Tim Beatty
Mentor: Khashayar Ghandi – Mount Allison University

Matt Cooke, Jessica Lacoste, Valancy Cole and Taylor Aust
Riverview High School, Riverview New Brunswick
Hot Peppers for Health
Teacher: Tim Beatty
Mentor: Stephen Westcott – Mount Allison University

Jacob Hambrook
John Caldwell High School, Grand Falls New Brunswick
Seaweed as a Potential Source of Ethanol Production
Teacher: Laurie Laforge
Mentor: Kevin Sheill – Centre of Excellence in Agricultural and Biotechnological Science

Mariya Turchin, Sophie Starke-Hellwig and Morgan Luce
Bathurst High School, Bathurst New Brunswick
Mussel Madness
Teacher: Stephen deVries
Mentor: Yanick Sirois – Nepisiquit-Chaleur Solid Waste Commission

For additional questions and to register contact the NB Regional Coordinator:
Kayoe Stewart (Science East)
(506) 457-2340 ext 25
SABC@bioatlantech.nb.ca