Garlic mustard is an unwanted European invader like purple loosestrife. In woodlands it out-competes native wildflowers like trilliums. On farms, dairy cows that eat it produce milk with a garlic flavour. Garlic mustard spreads quickly because it employs a form of chemical warfare called allelopathy (all-lee-lo-pathy) to suppress or prevent the growth of competitive plants.

Jessie MacAlpine of Woodstock learned from mentor Dr Brent Sinclair, a biologist at University of Western Ontario how garlic mustard produces biochemicals to suppress seed germination of other plants.

“I said ‘oh, so it’s used a herbicide?’” Jessie recalls, but Dr Sinclair didn’t think any one had ever tried it.

When the Grade 10 student at Woodstock’s Huron Park Secondary School confirmed no one had attempted to use garlic mustard as an all-natural herbicide, she was determined to be the first. And determination was needed since Jessie had to try several different methods for extracting the right chemicals from the roots of garlic mustard plants. “My first month of experimentation just produced at lot of unusable data,” the 15-year-old recalls.

On the 6th attempt she found the formulation that proved that 500 grams of the plant extract per litre of water significantly reduced germination, seedlings and root length.

“The most surprising thing I learned was how little research has been done on allelopathy’s potential as a herbicide,” says Jessie, “especially since synthetic herbicides are harmful to the environment as well as human health.”

Since most allelopoathic plants are edible, an all-natural herbicide derived from them should be safe for humans and the environment. And, she notes, many weeds are becoming resistant to synthetic herbicides.

Jessie calculates that treating an acre of ground with her garlic mustard bioherbicide would require 1,618 litres of extract. A substantial amount but she’s confident that could be improved with further research.

The sanofi-aventis Biotalent Challenge has opened Jessie’s eyes to the possibilities of a biology career, she says. “It was amazing to meet and interact with young scientists who are passionate about changing the world.”

Says Dr. Sinclair: “In science fair projects, the important thing is the process, not the results. Jessie has taken an observation of a natural phenomenon (allelopathy) and thought of a cool application.”

Last year, he noted, Jessie produced data on fruit flies that has now been published in peer-review scientific literature.

First place:
$3,000 cash prize, $1,500 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario and $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo.

Vivienne Tam
Project Title: Catch that Drug – The Biodegradable Nano-net
Grade 12
Waterloo Collegiate Institute, Waterloo, ON

Mentor:
Dr. Michael Tam
The University of Waterloo

Second place:
$2000 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario and $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo.

Janelle Tam
Project Title: Cellulose Crystals for Drug Delivery
Grade 11
Waterloo Collegiate Institute, Waterloo, ON

Mentor:
Dr. Michael Tam
The University of Waterloo

Third place:
$1,250 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario and $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo.

Jessie MacAlpine
Project Title: Suppressing weed germination using allelopathy of Alliaria petiolata
Grade 10
Huron Park Secondary School, Woodstock, ON

Mentor:
Dr. Brent Sinclair
The University of Western Ontario

Fourth place:
$750 cash prize, $500 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario and $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo.

Grace Wang
Project title: Exploring the Role of Natural Killer T Cell Modulation by Rapamycin – A Strategy for Anticancer Therapy
Grade 11
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, ON

Mentor:
Dr. Mansour Haeryfar
The University of Western Ontario

Fifth place:
$500 cash prize, $500 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario and $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo.

Katerina Loshkin
Project title: Enhancing Production of Cellulose Degrading Enzyme in Tobacco Plants for Biofuel
Grade 11
Oakridge Secondary School, London, ON

Mentor:
Dr. Igor Kolotilin
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Award of Distinction – Commercial Potential:
$1,000 cash prize and a conference pass to OCE Discovery 2011. This award is sponsored and presented by Ontario Centres of Excellence and Life Sciences Ontario

Jessie MacAlpine
Project Title: Suppressing weed germination using allelopathy of Alliaria petiolata
Grade 10
Huron Park Secondary School, Woodstock, ON

Mentor:
Dr. Brent Sinclair
The University of Western Ontario

Award of Distinction – Poster Display:

Katerina Loshkin
Project title: Enhancing Production of Cellulose Degrading Enzyme in Tobacco Plants for Biofuel
Grade 11
Oakridge Secondary School, London, ON

Mentor:
Dr. Igor Kolotilin
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Mentor of Distinction Award:
Recipient is nominated by participating students.

Mr. Doug Gajic
Centennial Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Guelph, ON

To see photos from the Regional Competition that took place on Thursday, April 21 please click here.

Thank you for your interest in the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge

Congratulations to all of the participants of the 2011 Southwestern Ontario Regional SABC Competition! The 2011 event took place on Thursday, April 21 at the London Convention Centre. Please click here to view a complete list of the regional winners and to view photos from this year’s Competition.

This program pairs high school students from London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Hamilton and Guelph with local researchers to collaborate on lab-based projects in the field of biotechnology, of interest to and designed by students. The Southwestern Ontario region’s program is hosted by TechAlliance. Students accepted into the program are required to submit a project proposal, if approved, students are paired with mentors in their region. The mentors support the students as they work independently throughout the duration of their project from about December – April.

Interested in submitting a proposal? Please follow the links below based on your geographical region to find out what kind of research is being done in your community, what type of project you might be interested in working on and who you might be interested in working with to get ready for next year!

London – Kitchener-Waterloo – Guelph – Hamilton

Please review the Proposal Guidelines to assist you in writing a proposal.

For more information or if you have any questions please email Allison Fisher, Regional Coordinator or call 519-858-5059.

• 2010-2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Winners
• 2009-2010 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Winners
• 2008-2009 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Winners
• 2007-2008 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Winners
• 2006-2007 Sanofi-Aventis Biotech Challenge Winners

Please check back regularly for updates.

Congratulations to all of the 2009-2010 regional SABC participants! Our Regional Competition took place on Friday, April 16 at the London Convention Centre. To view the list of regional winners and photos from the event please click here.

Special congratulations goes out to Brian Krug our regional champion, who went on to place second at the National Competition in Ottawa from April 26-28.

Missed this year’s deadline? Not to worry, please follow the links below based on your geographical region to find out what kind of research is being done in your community, what type of project you might be interested in working on and who you might be interested in working with to get ready for next year!

London – Kitchener-Waterloo – Guelph – Hamilton

Please click here to review the Proposal Guidelines that will assist you in writing a proposal.

For more information or if you have any questions please email Allison Fisher, Regional Coordinator or call 519-858-5059.

2009-2010 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Winners

2008-2009 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Winners

2007-2008 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Winners

2006-2007 Sanofi-Aventis Biotech Challenge Winners

Upcoming Community Events

Please check back regularly for updates and community events.

TechAlliance would like to thank our 2009-2010 regional SABC sponsors:

Learn more about the TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario!

1st place:
$3,000 cash prize, $1,500 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Brian Krug
Project Title: Catechin’s anti-angiogenic effects in epithelial ovarian cancer
Grade 11
John F. Ross CVI, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Jim Petrik
The University of Guelph

2nd place:
$2000 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Grace Wang
Project Title: Discovering the Role of ERK5 in Inhibiting Breast Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion
Grade 10
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Chandan Chakraborty
The University of Western Ontario

3rd place:
$1,250 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Linda Zhu and Jessica Zou
Project Title: Engineering of LEA Genes to Investigate Enhanced Salt Tolerance
Grades 12 and 11
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Steven Rothestein
The University of Guelph

4th place:
$750 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Nykole Crevits
Project title: Evaluation of Methylene Blue and Related Compounds for the Treatment of Huntington’s Disease
Grade 12
Parkside Collegiate Institute, St. Thomas, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Robert Cumming
The University of Western Ontario

5th place:
$500 cash prize, $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario, $500 entrance scholarship to the University of Waterloo and scholarship to Wilfrid Laurier University

Jenny Tian and Leslie Bothwell
Project title: Relation of Total Resistant Starch Concentration in Potatoes
Grade 12
Centennial Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Rickey Yada
The University of Guelph

Award of Distinction Commercial Potential:
Sponsored by Ontario Centres of Excellence

Grace Wang
Project Title: Discovering the Role of ERK5 in Inhibiting Breast Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion
Grade 10
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Chandan Chakraborty
The University of Western Ontario

Award of Distinction Poster Display:

Tony Kwon
Project title: Allium sativum as a Potential Antimicrobial Against Group A Streptococcal Infections
Grade 12
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. John McCormick
The University of Western Ontario

To see photos from the Regional Competition that took place on Friday, April 16 please click here

Ovarian cancer is the most serious of all gynecological cancers. Over 2500 Canadian women are diagnosed every year and every year 1,700 women succumb to this disease.

Like many cancers, ovarian cancer involves the inexplicable runaway growth of blood vessels and cells. Finding a way to slow or stop that runaway growth is something that fascinated and challenged Guelph’s Brian Krug.

After extensive review of scientific literature, Brian learned that catechin, a plant compound found in green tea, is known to inhibit cell growth and has had some positive results on other cancers.

Brian tested the effectiveness of various concentrations of catechin on rats with ovarian cancer. After careful measurements of the tumours, blood vessels and other indicators, he discovered the highest doses of catechin increased the growth of cancer cells, something which had not been seen before.

“I was very surprised to learn that high doses of catechin could have opposite effects from low doses in regards to blood vessel growth,” he says.

However he did determine that lower doses — 20 mg of catechin per kg of body weight (one fifth of the highest doses tested) — do indeed have preventative effects for ovarian cancer and could be useful in the treatment of advanced tumors.

Destined for medical research, Brian says the competition has been an excellent preparation for university and a future career in research.

For most of the brilliant young Canadians who enter the Sanofi-Aventis Biotalent Challenge (SABC), the lure is the chance to undertake significant research in a real laboratory. For 18-year-old Caitlin Martin Newnham, however, the motivation was much more personal.

Caitlin was named the winner of this year’s SABC for Southwest Ontario for her project investigating pain relief.

When Caitlin, a grade 12 student at London’s A.B. Lucas Secondary School, heard about the natural painkilling properties of capsaicin, the oil found in hot peppers, she immediately thought of how it could help her mother, Brenda Martin, who has suffered severe chronic pain since she was injured in a car accident 20 years ago.

“The prescription drugs my mother takes to control the pain have bad side effects,” said Caitlin.

She started researching capsaicin, used as a pain reliever because of its ability to degenerate the endings of pain neurons. It has few side effects and no known drug interactions. Unfortunately, one of the major drawbacks of capsaicin is the painful burning sensation upon administration that precedes the pain-relief.

“When I heard about capsaicin, I realized that it could be a great natural alternative for my mother. That’s when I began to think about finding a way to ease the painful burning sensation associated with it.”

Her research had two parts: firstly establishing medicinal leeches as an invertebrate model for the research (rats having been ruled out on ethical grounds) and then finding a capsaicin mixture that reduces the initial burning sensation.

Working in the lab at London Health Sciences Centre under the guidance of her mentor Dr. Dwight Moulin, Caitlin found that leeches reacted to capsaicin with frequent, vigorous, whole-body length changes whereas in saline solution they hardly moved. Further experimentation revealed that an injection of sodium chloride solution beforehand reduced the leeches’ reaction to a topical application of capsaicin.

In her first foray into SABC competition, she had discovered an invertebrate model for pain along with a capsaicin admixture that reduces the initial burning sensation.

“I would definitely like to investigate this further,” said Caitlin, who has set her sights on a career in medical and biological science that combines research and practice.

1st place:
$3,000 cash prize and $1,500 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario

Caitlin Martin Newnham
Project Title: The development of effective Capsaicin admixtures to reduce initial pain signals from TRPV1 ion channels using Hirudo medicinalis, a novel invertebrate model for pain research
Grade 12
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Dwight Moulin
London Health Sciences Centre

2nd place:
$2000 cash prize and $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario

Jessica Zou
Project Title: Engineering of Baculovirus for Insect Pests
Grade 10
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Peter Krell
The University of Guelph

3rd place:
$1,250 cash prize and $1,000 entrance scholarship to The University of Western Ontario

Hillary Dawkins and Susie Pan
Project Title: Extending the Operational Lifespan of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Grade 11
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Mr. Doug Gajic
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute

4th place:
$750 cash prize

Athir Zarir
Project title: Anabolic Actions of PTH: Effect of Treatment Modality on Osteoblast Differentiation and Mineralization Grade 12
Westminster Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Patricia Watson
Lawson Health Research Institute

5th place:
$500 cash prize

Laurel Davis and Steven Shaw
Project title: Investigating the Role of Periostin in Epithelial Cell Migration during Wound Repair
Grade 12
A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. David O’Gorman
Lawson Health Research Institute

Award of Distinction – Commercial Potential:

Vivienne and Janelle Tam
Project title: The Development of Magnetic Nanoparticles for the Removal of Pharmaceutical Contaminants in Drinking Water
Grades 10 and 9 respectively
Waterloo Collegiate Institute, Waterloo, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Michael Tam
The University of Waterloo

Award of Distinction Poster Display:

Noorain Shethwala and Sophia Oke
Project title: Chemotherapy Drugs: Less is More
Grade 11
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario

Mentor:
Dr. Peter Krell
The University of Guelph

First Place:
Student: Athir Zarir, Westminster Secondary School
Project: Therapeutic Targeting of Cancer Cells with Copper: Role of Oxidant Stress and Herbal Medicines
Mentor: Dr. Ed Lui, The University of Western Ontario

Photo: Mike Bridgman, Sanofi Pasteur and Athir Zarir
________________________________________________________________
Second Place:
Student: Pinky Langat and Chris Palmer, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute
Project: Analysis of the Efficiency of Natural Pigments in a Graetzel Solar-Electric Cell
Mentor: Mr. Doug Gajic, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute

Pinky Langat, Patrick Girouard, BioTalent Canada, Chris Palmer
________________________________________________________________
Third Place:
Student: Haley Fallowfield, Huron Park Secondary School
Project: Gsta4 as a Potential Contributor to Ethanol Preference
Mentor: Dr. Shiva Singh, The University of Western Ontario

Karen Reiger � Lawson Health Research Institute and Haley Fallowfield
________________________________________________________________
Fourth Place:
Student: Noorain Shethwala and Sophia Oke, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute
Project: The Quest for Phage
Mentor: Ms. Evelyn Brown, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute

Mike Irwin � 3M Canada and Noorain Shethwala
________________________________________________________________
Award of Distinction, Poster Display:
Student: Nikhita Singh, A.B. Lucas Secondary School
Project: How Inflammation Keeps Us Alive: The Superantigen Paradox
Mentor: Dr. Joaquin Madrenas, Robarts Research Institute
________________________________________________________________
Group Photo

Check out these websites for unique project ideas! If you have any questions or would like to be paired with a particular researcher please email Allison Fisher or call 519-858-5059. Please do not contact researchers directly!

Science Buddies
SMARTS

McMaster University Research Institutes & Departments

Faculty and their research (go to the link and click on a researcher’s name to see what they’re working on)
Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences
Biology
Chemistry
Geography & Earth Sciences
Mathematics & Statistics
Kinesiology
Life Sciences
Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences
Physics & Astronomy
Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour