2014 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC) Highlights Newest Crop of Potential Top Scientists

Teens mentored by some of Canada's premier biotechnology academics and scientists have created life-changing discoveries

MONTREAL, March 26, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Hundreds of Canada's most gifted high school and CEGEP students and their mentors, teachers and parents, will come together for the 2014 "Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC)", Canada's only national  biotechnology competition with mentors from Canada's top universities and research institutes. Inspired by the question "How will you change the world?", these Canadian teens aim to create astounding and life-changing discoveries.

Regional competitions begin in Montreal, Quebec on March 27. Over the next few weeks, the SBCC will take place in Winnipeg, MB (April 22), Vancouver, BC (April 17), Edmonton, AB (April 28), Saskatoon, SK (April 28), Southwestern Ontario/Guelph, ON (May 1), Toronto, ON (April 29), Eastern Ontario/Ottawa, ON (April 28) and Atlantic Canada/Sackville, NB (April 29). The competition will conclude at the Partners In Research National Awards (PIRNA) in Ottawa on May 23, 2014.

Quick Facts

• This year, over 200 proposals were received from high school and CEGEP students from Victoria to Saskatoon to St. John's, focused on biotechnology fields of discovery and study.
• Now in its 21^st year, over 4,700 high school students across Canada have participated in the "Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC)".
• Working closely with mentors, these students have conducted research in diverse areas such as telomeres, diabetes, stress management, Alzheimers, autism and pulp production.
• The first place winner of the competition will advance to the International BioGENEius Challenge held in San Diego, CA on June 22-25. For a full schedule of dates, locations and judges, click here.

Quotes

"Thanks to the SBCC, I was able to explore research that could potentially save lives down the road. The notion that a kid's idea can make such an impact inspires me to keep going and perservere, which is why I'm returning to the competiton this year," said 2013 SBCC National Winner Arjun Nair, 16. Arjun did university graduate-level research into an experimental therapy that deploys nano-particles of gold in the fight against cancer. Mentored at the University of Calgary, his research advances an experimental cancer "photothermal therapy" which involves injecting a patient with gold nanoparticles. The particles accumulate in tumours, forming so-called "nano-bullets" that can be heated to kill cancer cells and make the promising treatment more effective.

For more quotes and the full press release, please see here.

About the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC)

The Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC) is a national, biotechnology research competition that encourages high school and CEGEP students to pursue future studies and careers in the exciting field of biotechnology. 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.

SOURCE: Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC)

Media Contacts:

Andrea Mancini
CASACOM
[email protected]
Tel: [phone]

Anne Ramsay
Partners In Research
[email protected]
Tel: [phone]

For more information, please visit www.sanofibiogeneiuschallenge.ca, follow us on Facebook or Twitter at https://twitter.com/@SBCCDBSC hashtag: #SBCC2014