Feature Articles
Saskatoon Students Shine Two Years in a Row at National Science Competition in Ottawa
Fourteen-year-old Rui (Ree) Song won first place at the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) for her lentil fungus project yesterday in Ottawa. Rui attends Walter Murray Collegiate and is the youngest ever winner of the prestigious national award. Her research project on identifying markers in lentils could change the way our lentil crops are grown in Canada.
With Canada as the second largest world supplier of lentils, further research on this project could impact our regional agriculture sector. "Identifying disease markers in lentils is the first step to determining which plant breeding techniques are needed to eliminate the fungus in these pulse crops. This type of research is a step toward growing healthier, more productive lentil crops for Saskatchewan," said Dr. Wilf Keller, President and CEO of Genome Prairie, the coordinating agency for the SABC-Saskatoon Region for a second year. "We are so pleased to sponsor this program and to encourage these young regional students in the areas of genomics and biosciences – they truly reflect our strong research future here in Saskatoon."
Now in its 17th year, the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge is a high-level competition that introduces students to the real world of biotechnology by carrying out research projects of their own design. Rui won $2500 at the regional competition in Saskatoon and $5000 for the national prize on April 27, 2010.
Last year's national winner, Scott Adams, also from Walter Murray Collegiate in Saskatoon, was a guest judge at this year's national competition. Scott's project was focused on wheat's starch content. Both students were paired with mentors from the University of Saskatchewan.