3 Students Finalists In Biotechnology Research Competition

Saturday, April 2, 2011
Three teens have made it through the first round of one of the most prestigious high school science competitions in the country.
Students Kayla Dowell from Manhattan, Megan Haghnegahdar from Shawnee, and Megan Smith from Lenexa were named finalists today in the Kansas BioGENEius Challenge. They will go on to compete May 5 th for the opportunity to advance to the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge.
These students, along with four finalists from the Greater Kansas City State Science and Engineering Fair, will present their research May 5th to the KansasBio Board of Directors. Ultimately, only three winners out of the seven finalists will be selected to go on to compete in the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge in Washington, D.C. in June.
Ten U.S. National finalists will be selected to join students from Canada and Australia to compete in the International BioGENEius Challenge. The U.S. National and International BioGENEius Challenges are competitions for high school students who demonstrate an exemplary understanding of biotechnology through science research projects.
Kayla Dowell, Manhattan, is a junior home schooled at the Germann Hills Christian School. Her project title is Using Near-infrared Spectroscopy to Detect the Anti-malarial Artemisinin In Plant Extracts;
Megan Haghnegahdar, Shawnee, is a senior at Shawnee Mission West High School. Her project title is Impact of fluoroquinolone induced resistance on the intrinsic expression of P-glycoprotein phenotype on corneal epithelial cells; and
Megan Smith, Lenexa, is a junior at Shawnee Mission West High School. Her project title is The Effect of Glucose and Sucrose as Dietary Additives on the Lifespan Of Wild-Type and GAPDH Mutant C. Elegans.
The International BioGENEius Challenge is organized by the Biotechnology Institute, the national organization dedicated to biotechnology education, and sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, and Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
At the Local, U.S. National and International competitions, students are evaluated on the quality of their research and display, as well as on their responses to questions relating to their scientific knowledge and potential commercial applications of their research.
“For more than 15 years, the aim of the International BioGENEius Challenge has been to engage, excite and educate students about biotechnology and its immense potential for solving human health, food and environmental problems,” said Tom Wiggans, Chairman of the Board of the Biotechnology Institute. “By highlighting the amazing research of these students, we hope to encourage other students to consider pursuing a career in biotechnology.”
The International BioGENEius Challenge emerged from the Aventis Biotech Challenge and BioGENEius Award, which both owe their beginnings to the first BIO International Convention in 1994. Today, the initiative has grown to national and international prominence.
Sanofi Pasteur has supported the BioGENEius Challenge since its inception. In addition to Sanofi Pasteur and Janssen, additional support for the BioGENEius Challenge is provided by International Sponsors Genentech and Amgen and U.S. National Sponsors Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inspire Pharmaceuticals and Sangamo BioSciences.

Biotechnology vital for rapid agriculture growth

KARACHI: The use of biotechnology approach is vital for rapid agriculture development and healthcare in the country, a leadig scientist of the country said on Friday.

“The potential of biotech crops for the future is enormous,” said Dr M Iqbal Choudhary, Director of the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi. Droughts, floods, and temperature changes are predicted to become more prevalent and more severe, Choudhary said delivering a lecture at the ICCBS.

“We face the new challenges associated with the climate change, and hence, there will be a need for faster crop improvement programmes,” Choudhary said. There should be a national strategy and plan of action to use this revolutionary science, he said.

Biotech crops already contribute to some of the major challenges facing global society, including: food security and self-sufficiency, sustainability, alleviation of poverty and hunger, help in mitigating some of the challenges associated with climate change and global warming.

Nations are multiplying their agriculture productivity, preventing disease prevalence by universal vaccination, and solving the problem of environmental pollution, Pakistan should also chalk out a national strategy and plan of action to use this revolutionary science for solving preventing problems and for rapid development.

He said that there is a rapid population increase and in view of this Biotech crops can increase productivity and income significantly, and hence, can serve as an engine of rural economic growth that can contribute to the alleviation of poverty for the small and resource-poor farmers.

Dr Iqbal said that several biotech crop tools, including tissue culture, diagnostics, genomic, molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) and biotech crops can be used Choudhary collectively for speeding up the breeding and help mitigate the effects of climate change.