BioNova is co-ordinating the Nova Scotia edition of the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada.

Apply to participate in the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC) and get to work at making a difference through science. The SBCC isn’t like other science competitions. Here you get to propose and design your own biotech research project and work with real scientists in real labs to see it through. You’ll have the chance to compete with other high school students from across Nova Scotia and Canada. Plus the SBCC gives you the chance to win cash prizes.

The purpose of the SBCC is to encourage Grade 10 to 12 students to design and carry out original experiments under the guidance of mentors, which can be from industry, university and government. The Challenge is an 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.

This year, the top five Nova Scotia projects will compete in the Atlantic region Challenge which will take place in New Brunswick in April 2012.

The deadline for Nova Scotia students to submit proposals is November 22nd, 2011. Proposals submitted after November 22nd will not be accepted. Proposals must be submitted online here:

http://sanofibiogeneiuschallenge.ca/competitions/online-application-form/

Please read the online application instructions carefully before starting your application. Tips and Guidelines to help with your proposal development can be found at How to develop a proposal.

For more information on Nova Scotia proposals, email SBCC.NS@BioNova.ca

Join SBCC on Facebook

Last year’s disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico sparked the imagination of 16-year-old Nova Scotian Samantha Wright-Smith. Reading about the environmental impacts of toxic chemical dispersants used to deal with the spill, Samantha’s wondered whether oil-eating bacteria might do the job.

Oil spills occur routinely from the production, transport, storage, and use of oil. An estimated 18,000 to 24,000 spills on land are reported annually according to Environment Canada. The use of nature’s micro-organisms to clean up oil spills is called bioremediation, in which oil is consumed instead of simply being broken down into smaller amounts and moved to another environment.

To find oil-eating bacteria, Samantha looked around her own community, finding an old automotive garage where plenty of oil has spilled onto the ground over the years.

“I thought if there were bacteria living in that soil some of them might well be oil-eaters,” says the Grade 11 student at South Colchester Academy in Brookfield, NS.

She was right.

She took her soil samples St. Mary’s University in Halifax and the lab of to Dr. Zhongmin Dong, under whose guidance she enriched the samples to grow more bacteria and then tested them to see if they could degrade oil.

“It was really exciting one day to see all the bacteria swimming around. The bacteria did degrade the oil although we aren’t sure by how much,” she says.

Three major populations of oil-eating bacteria were identified through a DNA analysis.

Dr. Dong says more research is needed to understand the discovery’s full potential.

“One of the things I learned was that scientific research never ends,” says Samantha, who also demonstrated the dedication science requires, coping with a 100-km commute from her home to the lab. “I could only go once a week and would spend all day there. It was hard to keep up with my other school work,” she says.

Before the sanofi-aventis Biotalent Challenge, Samantha had not considered post-secondary science studies but she enjoyed the experience so much she now thinks science might be her best option.

2011 Nova Scotia SABC Winners

BioNova recently held Nova Scotia’s regional Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) at the National Research Council – Institute for Marine Biosciences. In its 17th year, SABC is a high-level science fair for high school students across the region. With thirteen students participating in this year’s competition, each with a specific life sciences angle, presentations showed innovative solutions to issues in agriculture, medicine and the environment.

Top prize went to Samantha Wright-Smith, a grade 11 student from South Colchester Academy for her work on bio remediation. Other finalists included:

2^nd place: Adrian Howie, Citadel High School, Halifax for his research on the use of natural compounds as neuroprotectors.

3^rd place: Brandon Verboom, South Colchester Academy, Brookfield for his project aimed at prolonging the post-harvest lifespan of Christmas trees.

4^th place: Maria Rutherford, South Colchester Academy, Brookfield for her work on reducing food spoilage.

5^th place: Aiden Schenkels, South Colchester Academy, Brookfield for his research on depleting nitrates and phosphate in municipal wastewater.

BioNova also presented an award for the most commercializable project to Brandon Verboom of South Colchester Academy.

The evening’s awards ceremony was held at the Prince George Hotel in Halifax with special guests Gary Burrill, MLA for the riding of Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley; Allan Snook, Senior Manager of Sanofi-Pasteur Group and Denise LeBlanc, Vice-Chair of BioNova’s Board of Directors.

Regional supporters for the event were BioNova, the National Research Council – Institute for Marine Biosciences, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, and Immunovaccine Inc. National supporters were Sanofi-Aventis, Sanofi-Pasteur, BioTalent Canada, the National Research Council of Canada, Genome Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.

Welcome to the 2009-10 Nova Scotia SABC Competition

There are eight projects going forward in the Nova Scotia SABC competition this year. With topics ranging from bioactives in algae to impact of Omega-3 on quality of poultry, students from several parts of the province are working away on making their projects contenders for the top prize.

Our competition will be held on April 15 at the IWK Health Centre. An awards dinner will be held that evening at the Prince George Hotel.

Regional partners for the 2010 competition include:
BioNova
National Research Council Institute for Marine Biosciences
The IWK Health Centre
Dalhousie University
Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Agriculture & Agri-food Canada

For more information on the sanofi-aventis BioTalent Challenge continue to visit this website or contact BioNova at:
1721 Lower Water Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1S5
Phone: 902-421-5705 Fax: 902-421-2733
Email: mmacneil@bionova.ca

___________________________________________________________
The 2009 SABC Competition
First Place- Joseph McNeil
School: Richmond Academy
Project: Tea as an Aid in Neuronal Growth
Mentor: Dr. Victor Rafuse, Dalhousie University

Second Place Adrian Howie
School: Citadel High School
Project: Effect of Increased Carbon Dioxide Levels on Microalgae’s Growth and Lipid Production
Mentor: Dr. Stephen O’Leary, National Research Council

Third Place Ruth Laing
School: Sir John A. MacDonald High School
Project: Life of MRSA Bacteria on Common Hospital Surfaces
Mentor: Dr. Chris Barden, DeNovaMed

Regional Sponsors:
BioNova
National Research Council Institute for Marine Biosciences
Dalhousie University
DeNovaMed

When most people think about the impact of climate change on Canada’s Arctic biodiversity they think about the plight of the polar bears. Adrian Howie thinks about the other end of the food chain – Arctic algae.

His interest began with an investigation into the effect of increased carbon dioxide levels on microalgae, a project that won 2nd place in last year’s Nova Scota regional SABC.

This year, the Grade 11 student at Citadel High School, Halifax, identified compounds in various Arctic algae species that can benefit human health, winning the chance to represent his province at the 2010 national finals.

“Climate change is having profound impacts on the Arctic environment,” said Adrian, 17. “We don’t really know what affect the warming oceans will have on Arctic algae so we should be moving quickly to identify species that can benefit humanity before the environment is permanently altered.”

Working with mentor Dr. Stephen Ewart of the NRC Institute for Marine Biosciences in Halifax, Adrian tested 10 Arctic algae species for compounds with health-promoting properties — antioxidants, anti-diabetics, immunomodulators, anti-inflammatories and anti-carcinogens.

The tests revealed four compounds with the potential for health benefits as well as one extract that affects both the nervous system and heart function. Experiments on cancer cells and zebra fish discovered two species of algae with the ability to kill cancer cells while not harming healthy cells.

Says Adrian: “With so many positive results from such a small number of species, I think this is an area that definitely deserves further study before we start to lose some of these potentially valuable resources.”

Green Tea may help fight Lou Gherig’s disease

Lou Gherig’s disease, formally known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), is perhaps the best known in a family of neuromuscular diseases that affect around 3,000 Canadians a year.

It is generally fatal. But, like many medical mysteries, researchers are progressing towards eventual treatment and cure.

The latest advance has been contributed by Joseph McNeil, 18, a Grade 12 student at the Richmond Academy in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

He has opened a new line of investigation into ALS with the results of a project into the use of green tea as an aid to motor neuron growth.

Joseph tested different concentrations of two green tea chemicals – one, an anti-oxidant, the other an amino acid – on the cultured motor neurons of mice, looking at the chemicals’ impact over different periods of time. Among his results: an increase in cellular growth by 16 to 30 per cent.

The results show definite promise, but it was the quality and substance of Joseph’s presentation that won him the 2009 Nova Scotia regional Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge.

Joseph has been working for the past two years with Drs. Victor Rafuse and Alli Murugesan of the Anatomy and Neurobiology Laboratory at Dalhousie University, Halifax, developing lab skills and refining his research focus.

Dr. Rafuse, whose laboratory developed mice motor neurons cell cultures, called it “intriguing” that Joseph obtained such promising results. “Right now we can show that neurons respond in a positive manner – they grow better, they look healthier.”

Joseph is excited to start his undergraduate degree at Dalhousie next year and feels his SABC will be a tremendous boost no matter what career path he chooses.

Discovery of herbal remedies’ effect on cancer wins Nova Scotia high school students first place in annual science competition
Top Regional Winners to Compete in National Final, Ottawa, May 6

Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 24, 2008 “Two grade 12 students from Citadel High School in Halifax took home top honours in the Nova Scotia Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC), held at the IWK Health Centre on Thursday.”

Mohanad Khairy and Eleizer Marval won first place for their research into the effects of herbal remedies on the spread of cancer cells. Since last fall, Mohanad and Eleizer have been working under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth West from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University. On Thursday, they presented their project to a group of judges comprised of representatives from Nova Scotia’s scientific community. As first-place winners, the students and their school shared a cash prize of $2,200 and they will go on to represent Nova Scotia at the national SABC final competition.

“It is a real pleasure to host this program in Nova Scotia,” said Marli MacNeil, CEO of BioNova. The enthusiasm and creativity these students bring to their projects put us in good stead for future leaders of the province’s life sciences industry.

This is the tenth year that Nova Scotia has hosted the regional SABC, which is coordinated annually by BioNova and is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council program. The competition invites high school students to learn about biotechnology by allowing them to conduct research projects of their own design. All of the students in the competition were mentored by professional scientists, with access to labs and equipment normally reserved for graduate level research. The SABC’s primary objective is to encourage more students to pursue studies and employment in the life sciences.

The 2008 runners-up were:

Second Place Ruth Laing
School: Sir John A. MacDonald High School
Project: Environmental Applications of Leptothrix Bacteria
Mentor: Dr. Graham Gagnon, Dalhousie University

Third Place Joseph McNeil
School: Richmond Academy
Project: Camellia Sinensis as an Aid in Regenerative Nerve Therapy
Mentor: Dr. Victor Rafuse, Dalhousie Univeristy

Fourth Place Alexandra Blay and Cheong-Min Baek
School: Sacred Heart School of Halifax
Project: Ducking the Problem using duckweed to remove ammonia from water sources
Mentor: Dr. Jonathan Blay

All 14 regional winners from across Canada will present their projects for judging by federal public service and private sector experts in Ottawa on May 6. For the first time, the national competition will be done face-to-face, with regional finalists flown to Ottawa for the event.

Awards for the Nova Scotia SABC were presented by BioNova President Jean-Paul Deveau, Jason Locklin of sanofi-pasteur and Quy Ha of BioTalent Canada during BioNova’s annual Celebration of Research Excellence.

BioNova represents the more than 3,400 men and women working in the province’s life sciences community. Members include companies, universities, hospitals, research institutions, government agencies, suppliers and students. BioNova provides leadership and support to its members while advocating for the continued growth of life sciences industry in Nova Scotia. BioNova has as part of its mandate to promote and encourage careers in life sciences through programs like the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge. For more information: www.bionova.ca; www.sanofibiotalentchallenge.ca

For more information, please contact:
Rocky Hynes
Director of Education and Communication
BioNova
902-425-4993 (office)
rhynes@bionova.ca

An inspiring teacher who died from ovarian cancer prompted Victoria Bentley to see if she could use her scientific knowledge to find a new treatment for the disease which is the fifth-highest cause of cancer deaths in Canada.

Knowing that ovarian cancer grows in response to the hormone estrogen just like breast cancer she wondered if Tamoxifen — the breast cancer treatment drug– would also suppress ovarian cancer cells. The sixteen-year old Halifax student applied Tamoxifen to human ovarian cancer cells which made them “supersensitive” to levels of estrogen. Instead of the hormone causing the cancer cells to proliferate, it inhibited their growth she said.

Tamoxifen is not approved for use for ovarian cancer and there is a lack of concrete evidence that it could work until now says Bentley.

“It’s surprising that something that I showed to be a viable treatment option was not recognized as such by such important institutions as the US FDA.”

Equally surprising perhaps is that busy with piano lessons and practice, national debating contests and school that the Grade 11 student had time to do medical research.

Her experiment also uncovered a potential new tool for assessing the effectiveness of ovarian cancer treatments. Bentley explains: “I demonstrated that the expression levels of progesterone receptors are linked to cancer cell inhibition.” In other words, if the cancer treatment is working then progesterone receptor expression changes.

“The practical applications of biotechnology are astounding, and I think that this is an amazing field of work” she says.

“This project also exposed be to the thriving biotechnology sector within Nova Scotia, which I really wasn’t aware of up until now.”

Her mentor was Dr. Michelle Mujoomdar, post-doctoral fellow, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University.

(l-r) Dale Yakutchik (sanofi-pasteur), Victoria Bentley, JP Deveau (BioNova)