Ottawa’s Top Science Prodigies Recognized at Sanofi Biogenius Canada Competition

Appearing from left to right: Isabelle Labeca-Gordon – SBC Alumna and University of Ottawa Chemistry student (Judge & Presenter);Dr. Steve Perry – Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Ottawa (Presenter); Aditya Mohan – 1st Place winner, Colonel By Secondary School grade 12; Mr. Terry Skyba – Key Accounts Manager, Sanofi Pasteur; Dr. Malcolm Butler – Dean of Science, Carleton University; Dr. Rebecca Trueman – Chair of Applied Science and Environmental Technology, Algonquin College.

Winner chosen for groundbreaking cancer research project

Ottawa, ON – April 24, 2015 – Aditya Mohan, a grade 11 student at Colonel By Secondary School, has earned top honours at the Eastern Ontario edition of the prestigious Sanofi Biogenius Canada (SBC) competition. Aditya was chosen by the judges for his research project focusing on a ground breaking new cancer treatment which uses a virus to infect and kill cancer cells, and could offer numerous advantageous over current therapies.  Aditya’s project was completed with the support of his mentor Dr. Angela Crawley of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

“Participating in Sanofi Biogenius Canada has been an amazing experience. Through the competition, I was able to explore the exciting world of biological innovation, perform novel experiments alongside scientists at the top of their fields and further explore my passions, which has helped me realize how welcoming and receptive the scientific community is to youth involvement in research,” said Aditya Mohan.

One of the country’s most prestigious student competitions, Sanofi Biogenius Canada pairs exceptional young scientists with academic mentors to pursue real-world research projects, and participants have produced many promising scientific breakthroughs.

The runners-up of the SBC 2015 Eastern Ontario regional final:                               

Second prize went to Amit Scheer, a grade 11 student at Colonel By Secondary School, for his project which explored the use of nanoparticles as delivery systems in cancer therapeutics. Amit Scheer took first place in the 2014 Eastern Ontario competition and plans to return to compete in SBC 2016.

Third prize went to Maria del Mar Cuevas, a grade 10 student at Lisgar Collegiate Institute, for her project which sought to predict mild to severe negative reactions to drugs during the development process, in order to minimize adverse side effects in patients from future medications.

Aditya Mohan will now progress to the SBC 2015 National Final in Ottawa on May 25 and 26. There, winners of all nine regional SBC competitions across Canada will submit their work to a panel of Canada’s pre-eminent scientists for a chance at winning the top prize: a place at the 2015 International BioGENEius Challenge in Philadelphia this coming June. Aditya also receives a cash prize of $2,000, a portion of which will go to Colonel By High School. Runners-up in this year’s SBC Eastern Ontario regional competition were also awarded cash prizes ranging in value from $500 to $1,500. 

About the Sanofi Biogenius Challenge (SBC)

Sanofi Biogenius Canada is a national science research competition open to high school students, which since 1992, has helped almost 4,000 young Canadians pursue real-world scientific research projects that have been the launch pads to future studies and careers. Coordinated by Partners In Research, the initiative is sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur Limited, Sanofi Canada, the Ontario Government (Ministry of Research & Innovation), York University, the National Research Council Canada/Conseil national de recherches Canada (NRC-CNRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (CIHR-IRSC) and Genome Canada.

For more information, please visit biogenius.ca, or follow SBC on Facebook (facebook.com/SanofiBiogenius) or Twitter (@biogeniusCA) using the hashtag #SBC2015.