Eight of Canada’s top high school scientists have been selected by Youth Science Canada to represent the country at the 2020 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) from May 10-15 in Anaheim, California. Regeneron ISEF is the world championships of science fairs. Unfortunately, the team will not participate in the event as a result of the preventative measures enacted in Canada and the U.S. to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Team Canada-ISEF 2020 was selected by a distinguished panel of 17 university faculty, researchers, educators and Team Canada-ISEF alumni through a competitive national selection process that began in October and concluded today.

“We are always amazed by the quality of projects submitted for the Team Canada-ISEF selection process,” says Dr. Patrick Whippey, Selection Committee Chair. “The research and development work being done by these high school students is approximately at the Master’s degree level, which speaks volumes about this country’s future in science and technology.”

“Canada’s top young scientists and engineers are truly world-class,” says Reni Barlow, Executive Director of Youth Science Canada, the national charitable organization responsible for science fairs and the Team Canada-ISEF program. “It’s heartbreaking that they won’t be able to share their incredible work with the world’s top young scientists, engineers and innovators, as well as the ISEF judges.”

This year’s team includes Grand Award winners from Canada-Wide Science Fairs 2016-2019, two previous Team Canada-ISEF finalists and projects from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Québec. Team members include (left to right, top to bottom in photo):

• Mac Dykeman – Langley, BC
  Identifying and Controlling the Spread of Salmonella Pathogens in the Poultry Industry
• Jérémie Gaudreault – Québec, QC
  Matrix-based Systematic Approach for Self-Adjusting CNC Manufacturing Processes
• Sophie Hoye Pacholek – Calgary, AB
  Biomimetic wings for enhanced aircraft performance
• Dheiksha Jayasankar – St. Catharines, ON
  Identification of Antimicrobials in Annona muricata to Prevent Wound Infection
• Danish Mahmood – London, ON
  Superior Antitumor Fusion Proteins Genetically Engineered in Cell-Based Cancer Therapy
• Bhavya Mohan – Ottawa, ON
  Taking ABiTE out of Cancer: A Novel Aptamer based BiTE for Cancer Immunotherapy
• Albert Nitu – Ottawa, ON
  CRISPR/Cas-mediated pathogenesis disruption to sustainably combat multidrug-resistant pathogens
• Shounak Ray – Calgary, AB
  Predictive Diagnosis for Parkinson’s Disease Through Machine Learning

Team Canada-ISEF is a program of Youth Science Canada and is generously supported by Youth Can Innovate, a program of The Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation.

About Youth Science Canada
Youth Science Canada fuels the curiosity of Canadian youth through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) projects. A national, registered charitable organization since 1962, we work to ensure that Canadian youth have the capacity and skills to generate and answer questions, and identify and solve problems in STEM.

Media contact:
Melissa Arauz
Torchia Communications
514-288-8290 Ext. 205
[email protected]