Congratulations to the following students on participating in the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair (GVRSF) held at UBC this past weekend. Students will have their projects on display next week. Please stop by and have a look!
Joy, Gr. 11
Gold Medal, UBC Science Entrance Award, and a place on Team BC to attend the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, New Brunswick in May.
Inhibiting Cancer Glucose Metabolism Using Metformin and MCT4 Antisense Oligonucleotides
The objective of this project was to develop a more effective therapy against cancerous cells in prostate cancer by targeting two major ATP production pathways in combination: glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle by using antisense oligonucleotides (to target monocarboxylate transporter 4) and metformin (to target the TCA cycle).
Elizabeth, Gr. 11
Gold Medal, the Senior Genome BC Award, UBC Science Entrance Award, and a place on Team BC to attend the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, New Brunswick in May.
Validating Drug Potency: Meta-Analysis of Gene Expression and Pathways of Gastric Carcinoma Cells
Gastric carcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world. Through the use of a meta-analysis, various genes were analyzed to determine whether their pathways would influence the development of gastric cancer. Inhibitors of the genes with the greatest potential are currently undergoing preclinical drug trials.
Nicole, Gr. 11
Gold Medal, UBC Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Winner.
Point-of-Care Low-Cost Disposable Device for Nucleic Acid Amplification and Detection of HIV: Sample-to-Answer in 60 Minutes for less than $5.00
Nicole’s research aimed to develop the first fully-disposable point-of-care nucleic acid diagnostic tool for use in low-resource settings through the use of an isothermal nucleic acid amplification process on a paper-based microfluidics platform.
Nicole has also been invited to be part of Team Canada, and will join 11 other Canadian high school students at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair held in May this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
As well, Nicole is to be congratulated on being awarded a very prestigious start-up grant of $100,000 from the Coulter Foundation to help take her project ideas to the next level. Wow!
You may remember that Nicole won the top prize at the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada in 2013, and went on to compete in the International BioGENEius Challenge at the end of June, 2014. Read more about Nicole’s groundbreaking project here.
Ariana, Gr. 11
Gold Medal, American Industrial Hygiene Section Award and a place on Team BC to attend the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, New Brunswick in May.
Goodbye Fungi: Using Nanoparticles to Eliminate Aspergillus Spores
Fungi are prevalent in our environment. Some fungi are harmless, while there are many types that are harmful. Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus are two common fungi, which harm a multitude of aspects in our society. Ariana’s experiments involved the synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles with different nanoparticles, such as silver, and zinc oxide in paint, which can greatly reduce fungi that emit carcinogenic toxins.
Michelle, Gr. 10
DAWEG (Division for the Advancement of Women in Engineering and Geoscience) Award
Splitting A Single Drop of Blood
Using the laws of hydrophobicity, Michelle’s goal with this project was to discover how one droplet of blood can be used to test multiple cancer markers simultaneously. She has been working with Dr. Bixia Ge, a research scientists at Simon Fraser University.
Marissa, Gr. 12
Honourable Mention
Understanding the Mechanisms of DNA Damage and Repair: Effects of Doxorubicin and Cosmic Radiation on Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
The purpose of Marissa’s project was to investigate the mechanisms of DNA damage and repair by studying the effects of a chemical treatment and cosmic radiation on DNA integrity in baker’s yeast.
Claire, Gr. 9
Honourable Mention
Water Dancing
The aim of Claire’s experiment was to explain how trapped air, when pressurized, can separate water droplets from surface water, using Boyle’s Law, which states: at constant temperature, the pressure and volume of an entrapped gas are inversely proportional to each other.