Science nationals await

Enlarge Image

DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kiera Garagan of St. Mary's Academy, with her project Ouch My Head, and her provincial science fair award.

 For Grade 8 student Kiera Garagan, this year's provincial science fair project was personal.

"In 2004, my great-nana fell and bumped her head," said the St. Mary's Academy student whose project dubbed "Ouch My Head" was chosen to compete in the national science fair in Winnipeg next month.

Enlarge Image

Provincial science fair winners, from left: Shannon Ball, Kiera Garagan, Binudith Warnakulasooriya, Juliet Daet, Brent Murphy. (DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Garagan's project looked at the statistics for seniors falling and hitting their heads, and tested head-coverings designed to be worn as hats, that might mitigate their injuries.

She dropped forms of heads with various head-coverings to measure impact.

"I did it at home in the basement," said Garagan, who discovered two types of head-coverings made a significant difference. They were on display at the University of Winnipeg's Duckworth Centre, where the Manitoba School Science Symposium provincial science fair winners were announced Sunday.

While Garagan's project came from love for her great-grandmother, Brent Murphy's was spawned by love for garlic, the family business. The Arthur A. Leach student's project was "Growth vs. Death: What is the Effect of Garlic When Used as a Biological Seed Treatment?"

Murphy, who eats garlic every day and enjoys pickled garlic the most, said he was pleased that his project will potentially help his family's garlic farm.

Garagan and Murphy will be among 500 brilliant young minds from across Canada competing in the Canada Wide Science Fair May 9 to 17. This year it will be held in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba.

Garden City Collegiate's Shannon Ball will also represent Manitoba, with her project studying lightning dubbed "'It's 'In' Lightning." It won an award for the best physical science project in the intermediate age group.

Not all of the winning project titles were as catchy. In fact, the awards presenters had a tough time spitting out some of them, like Juliet Daet's "Inhibition of Cell Growth and Proliferation by Polyamine Analogue DENSPM in HER2/neu-Overexpressing Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer."

The St. Mary's Academy student said, in a nutshell, she was looking at novel cancer treatments and is excited about doing more research in health care and cancer.

"Eventually it may become a therapy for cancer treatment," said Daet, who won best overall in the biological category for a high school senior.

Binudith Warnakulasooriya said his project, "Gene Expression Analysis Of Pinoresinol-lariciresinol Reductase and Level of Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside In Flax=Linum Usitatissimum," wasn't something he was looking into just for fun.

The Fort Richmond Collegiate science whiz has a mentor at the University of Manitoba cereals research centre who suggested the project as something he could sink his teeth into.

And the high school senior did, winning awards including best overall project and propelling him to the nationals.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Our top young minds

Provincial science fair winners heading to Canada Wide Science Fair at University of Manitoba May 9 to 17:

Shannon Ball: 'It's "In" Lightning', Garden City Collegiate

Kiera Garagan: 'Ouch My Head', St. Mary's Academy

Brent Murphy: 'Growth vs Death: What Is the Effect of Garlic When Used as a Biological Seed Treatment', Arthur A. Leach Junior High

Juliet Daet: 'Inhibition of Cell Growth and Proliferation by Polyamine Analogue DENSPM in HER2/neu-Overexpressing Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer', St. Mary's Academy

Binudith Warnakulasooriya: 'Gene Expression Analysis Of Pinoresinol-lariciresinol Reductase and Level of Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside In Flax=Linum Usitatissimum)', Fort Richmond Collegiate.

Science fair winners

Best Overall Individual

Elementary

Sponsored by Doctors Manitoba ($250)

Brennan Siemens, Linden Christian School

'The Dirty Truth About Washing Your Hands'

Junior

Sponsored by Doctors Manitoba ($250)

Kiera Garagan, St. Mary's Academy

'Ouch My Head'

Intermediate ($500)

Sponsored by Doctors Manitoba

Devon Sawatzky, Acadia Junior High

'Adaptive Robotic Motion'

Senior

Sponsored by Doctors Manitoba ($2000)

Binudith Warnakulasooriya, Fort Richmond Collegiate

'Gene Expression Analysis Of Pinoresinol-lariciresinol Reductase And Level of Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside In FlaxLinum Usitatissimum)'

Best Biological Individual

Elementary

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($100)

MacKenzie Sarvis, Linden Christian School

'The Effect of Antioxidants on Cell Growth and Reducing the Damage by Free Radicals'

Junior

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($100)

Ella Thomson, Balmoral Hall

'Potential of DDGS to Replace Yeast Extract in Cellulose Fermentation Media'

Intermediate

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($150)

Brent Murphy, Arthur A. Leach

'Growth vs Death: What is the effect of garlic when used as a biological seed treatment'

Senior

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($250)

Juliet Daet, St. Mary's Academy

'Inhibition of Cell Growth and Proliferation by Polyamine Analogue DENSPM in HER2/neu-Overexpressing Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer'

Best Physical Individual

Elementary

Sponsored by Richardson Foundation ($100)

Dominic Slivinski, Holy Ghost School

'Going With The Wind'

Junior

Sponsored by Richardson Foundation ($100)

Voya Jaric, Ecole River Heights

'Free Throw Basketball'

Intermediate

Sponsored by Richardson Foundation ($150)

Individual - Best Physical Intermediate Shannon Ball, Garden City Collegiate

'It's "In" Lightning'

Best Overall Group

Elementary

Sponsored by Manitoba Hydro ($250)

Monique Coffey, Nicola Kish, Ecole MacNeill

'Hamster Electricty'

Junior

Sponsored by Manitoba Hydro ($250)

Christina Huang, Stephanie Leung, Acadia Junior High

'Cryrse, You Lose'

Intermediate

Sponsored by Manitoba Hydro ($350)

Kyle Bernardin, Stefan Briton, Oak Park High School

'M.A.D.D. (Microcontrollers Against Drunk Driving)'

Senior

Sponsored by Manitoba Hydro ($400)

Dorothy Yu, Irene Xie, St. John's-Ravenscourt School

'IgY Not?: Does Yolk Immunoglobulin Modulate Bacterial Adhesion to Gut Cells?'

Best Physical Group

Elementary

Sponsored by Richardson Foundation ($100)

Brett Reich, Jesse Reich, Gillis School

'Temperature and Titration'

Junior

Sponsored by Richardson Foundation ($100)

Chelsay Aldea, Victoria Ayo, Holy Ghost School

'Algae Bloom'

Intermediate

Sponsored by Richardson Foundation ($150)

Kendra Webb, Julie Semenchuk, Andrew Mynarski V.C. Junior High School

'How you should thaw meat that's raw.'

Best Biological Group

Elementary

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($100)

Thomas McCallum, Erik Psooy, Ecole Robert H. Smith School

'The Stroop Effect'

Junior

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($100)

Eliot Dewick, Matthew Wiebe, Ecole Morden Middle School

'Which Soil Brand Helps Plants Grow Best?'

Intermediate

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($150)

Adriana Kovaltchouk, Janelle Lazaro, Sisler High School

'The Darker Side Of Chocolate'

Senior

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc. ($250)

Kate Gong, Aimee Bell, Fort Richmond Collegiate

'Effect of BFR and other manmade chemicals used in flame retardants on fish physiology'

Canada-Wide Science Fair

Kiera Garagan, 'Ouch My Head', St. Mary's Academy;

Sponsored by Government of Manitoba - Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines

Brent Murphy, 'Grwoth vs Death: What is the effect of garlic when used as a biological seed treatment', Arthur A. Leach;

Sponsored by Monsanto Canada Inc.

Shannon Ball, 'It's "In" Lightning', Garden City Collegiate;

Sponsored by University of Winnipeg

Juliet Daet, 'Inhibition of Cell Growth and Proliferation by Polyamine Analogue DENSPM in HER2/neu-Overexpressing Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer', St. Mary's Academy;

Sponsored by Canadian Cancer Foundation (Manitoba Division)

Binudith Warnakulasooriya, 'Gene Expression Analysis Of Pinoresinol-lariciresinol Reductase And Level of Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside In Flax=Linum Usitatissimum)', Fort Richmond Collegiate;

Sponsored by Science Teachers Association of Manitoba (STAM)

Biology - Animal Science

Elementary

Bronze: Bretton Hill, Strathmillan; Sara Jane Krezanski, Maple Leaf; Heather Milan, Maple Leaf; Claire Ogaranko, Emma Siemens, Crane;

Silver: Julia Kozak, Maple Leaf;

Gold: Juliana Perez, Henry G. Izatt;

Junior

Bronze: Ethan Unger, Acadia; Jaden Edginton, St. Marys; Cailey Coghlan, St. Mary's;

Silver: Kara Chan, Acadia; Christopher Rampersad, Acadia;

Gold: Vasilis Schindle, Brant Argyle;

Intermediate

Bronze: Jerry Liu, Acadia; Helen Zhang, Sisler;

Silver: Katie Robinson Hoppa, Alexandra Brandon, Acadia;

Gold: Michael Teichman, Grant Park; Rachel Albensi, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Senior

Gold: Kate Gong, Aimee Bell, Fort Richmond;

Biology - Plant Science

Elementary

Bronze: Nikolas Barkman, Sydney Fialski, Gillis; Robert Wertepny, Holy Ghost; Katrina Stratton, Karen Mueller-Moran, Tuxedo Park; Duncan Holbrow, The Laureate;

Silver: Emma White, Robert H. Smith; Eaton Thennissen, Linden Christian; Yael Ripstein, Liat Stitz, Gray; Shannon Meikle, Linden Christian;

Gold: Kearley Abbott, Peggy Harvie, St John Brebeuf; Emily Grant, Holy Ghost;

Junior

Bronze: Dancheng Hu, Acadia; Meagan Roe, St. Mary's; Amanda Marek, Gillis;

Silver: Dareen El-Sayed, Acadia; Sarah Oresnik, Acadia; Hongra Ren, Acadia; Sonia Wilson, Acadia; Eliot Dewick, Matthew Wiebe, Morden;

Gold: Angela Daet, Holy Ghost; Danielle Deicont, St. Mary's; Allen Liu, Acadia;

Intermediate

Bronze: Donna Nguyen, General Wolfe; Jovana Tosovic, Arthur A. Leach; Ryan Shibley, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Silver: Dobyun Kim, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Gold: Brittany Dobbin, Red River Valley; Parminder Singh Gill, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Senior

Gold: Ritika Khatkar, Fort Richmond;

Biotechnology

Elementary

Silver: Iqra Tariq, Alhijra Islamic;

Gold: Ian James Ellchuk, Springs Christian;

Junior

JuniorSilver: Aaron Prosser, Chief Peguis Jr.; Atoosa Jalayeri, Arthur A. Leach;

JuniorGold: Ella Thomson, Balmoral Hall; Demarr Amara, Marion;

Intermediate

Silver: Rajas Tipnis, Tony Zhau, Acadia; Kenji Pliszka, Charlie Killeen, St. John's Ravenscourt;

Gold: Jenny Du, Seiwon Park, Fort Richmond; Brent Murphy, Arthur A. Leach; Anike Rahman, Fort Richmond;

Senior

Bronze: Uliana Kovaltchouk, Sisler;

Silver: Ali Almaleki, Grant Park;

Gold: Binudith Warnakulasooriya, Fort Richmond; Ryan Murphy, Fort Richmond;

Chemistry

Elementary

Bronze: Victoria Ly, Crane; Bryson Schettler, Arborg Early Years; Zachary Alderdice, St John Brebeuf; Jiwan Emre, Robert H. Smith;

Silver: Kaci Van Schepdael, Amanda Yeo, Strathmillan; Madison Laval, Gabriella Thalhammer, Dieppe;

Gold: Alexander Motrenko, Tuxedo Park; Brett Reich, Jesse Reich, Gillis;

Junior

Bronze: Temulun Bagen, Yilin Tian, Acadia; Ryan Miner, Starbuck; Sakith Deelaka Ratnayake, Acadia; Jenna Lang, Bruce; Mason Mitchell, Bruce;

Silver: Shelby Newkirk, Linden Christian;

Gold: Amanjyot Singh, Arthur A. Leach; Ameera Hague, Piang-Or Pochanart, Acadia;

Intermediate

Bronze: Andrew Alton, James Xu, Acadia; Alyssa Abad, General Wolfe;

Gold: Chris Kraljevic, Shaftesbury;

Senior

Silver: Stephanie Tong, Barbara Lattova, Shaftesbury;

Consumer Science

Elementary

Bronze: Alan Dalkie, Robert H. Smith; Austin Wood, Gillis; Candace Hamilton, Maple Leaf; Daniel Gauer, Robert H. Smith;

Silver: Samantha Hutchings, Katherine Tines, Tuxedo Park; Jarod Standil Margovski, Zach Greenberg, Gray; Erin Rubin, Jacqui Cohen, Gray; Michael Peterson, Riverton Early;

Gold: Alyssa Jaculak, Gillis;

Junior

Bronze: Nancy Li, Daisy Liu, Acadia; Bethany Kruse, Acadia; Juliana Damert, Gillis;

Silver: Hannah Jensrud, Jillian Grimstead, Andrew Mynarski V.C.; Josie Feltham, Balmoral Hall;

Gold: Nicholas Jaculak, Gillis;

Intermediate

Bronze: Cormac Fester, Red River Valley; Kevin Macdull, St. Boniface Diocesan; Jenna Sto Domingo, Melissa Omaga, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Silver: Amanda Morgan-Gravel, Hailey Kalupar, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Gold: Kateri Arkle, St. Boniface Diocesan; Adriana Kovaltchouk, Janelle Lazaro, Sisler;

Engineering

Elementary

Bronze: Jonah Targownik, Brock Corydon; Riley Lambert, Dieppe; Braden Goodall, Tuxedo Park; Stason Ali, Brent Tichon, Dieppe;

Silver: Braden Sjeberg, Gillis; Jovich Mercader, Gladstone; Simon Jones, Robert H. Smith; Luke Boguski, Tuxedo Park;

Gold: Dirk Page, Dieppe; Dominic Slivinski, Holy Ghost;

Junior

Silver: Hannah Chan, Acadia;

Gold: Kiera Garagan, St. Mary's; Dayna Foxton, Daniel Spence, Morden;

Intermediate

Silver: Allie Derwin, Jenny Jo, St. Mary's;

Gold: Kyle Bernardin, Stefan Briton, Oak Park; Devon Sawatzky, Acadia;

Environmental Studies & Earth Science

Elementary

Bronze: Jeremy Croiter, Robert H. Smith; Devin Sigurdson, Riverton Early; Mikayla Machado, Strathmillan; Jasmin Epp, Strathmillan; Emily Tham, Katrina Dotzlaw, Maple Leaf; Alexa Smith, Gray; Meghan Kukelko, St John Brebeuf;

Silver: Jeremy Liscum, Strathmillan; Grace Daet, Holy Ghost; Keanu Oliveira, Holy Ghost;

Gold: Monique Gauthier, Maple Leaf; Georgia Hong, Robert H. Smith;

Junior

Bronze: Patricia Navarro, Elsa Kaka, St Charles Catholic; Yasas Rajapakse, Acadia; Trevor Stevens, Tyler Poloski, Dr. George Johnson;

Silver: Rylan Groening, Lowe Farm; Alison Rempel, Morris; Chrystalle Omaga, Holy Ghost; Kristen Mason, Mackenzie Dyck, Lowe Farm; Hanna Hendrickson-Rebizant, Winnipeg Beach School; Forest Brown, Quinn Fenske, River Heights; Natania Goffard, Bruce; Chanda-Labre Bailey, St. Maurice;

Gold: Slaire Spearman, Acadia; Rylen de Vries, River Heights; Chelsay Aldea, Victoria Ayo, Holy Ghost;

Intermediate

Bronze: Sam Nowicki, Kelvin;

Silver: Nolan Beardy, Wade Young, Chief Sam Cook;

Gold: Sonting Luo, Acadia; Rebecca Kunzman, Arthur A. Leach; Shannon Ball, Garden City;

Health Science

Elementary

Bronze: Jillana Groening, Emily Isaak, Lowe Farm; Carley Matkowski, Winnipeg Beach; Matt Lawrence, Noah King, Robert H. Smith; Mackenzie Blydt-Hansen, Robert H. Smith School; Maryam Axami, Alhijra Islamic; Ryan Nykvist, Tuxedo Park; Eyda-Dipita Doumbe, Arian Buccini, St John Brebeuf; Nada Al Siddig, Alhijra Islamic; Llewellyn Carter, Gladstone; Sami Palay, Melissa Minuk, Gray; Dustin dela Cruz, Holy Ghost;

Silver: Fatima Jarkas, Alhijra Islamic; Huda Mesaud, Krushelle Zeid, Alhijra Islamic; Raphael Villanueva, Jeylyn Sarmiento, Holy Ghost; Thomas Wright, Robert H. Smith; Evelyn Hancock, Robert H. Smith; Samantha Worb, Claire Chochinov, Gray; Shaydel Purcell, Gillis; Liam Kells, Noah Jackson, Bannatyne;

Gold: Thomas McCallum, Erik Psooy, Robert H. Smith; Brennan Siemens, Linden Christian; Micah Sommer, Gray; MacKenzie Sarvis, Linden Christian; Brendan Prosser, Maple Leaf School;

Junior

Bronze: Zineb Moustarzak, Bareen Hamoud, Alhijra Islamic; Ashley Kozier, Edward Shreyer; Victoria McDonald, Bruce; Madison Magnus-Walker, Jessie Augustus, St. Mary's; Nikki Rose Macatula, J.P. Austria, Holy Cross; Justin Losier, Holy Ghost; Lauren Hammond, St. Mary's; Alanna Flom, Balmoral Hall; Michaela Prentice, Maggie Laverge, River Heights; Mossreem Zeid, St. Mary's; Quyen Tran, River Heights; Christine Vaccare, Madison Danyluk, Laidlaw; Meighan Amorosie, Alexandra Banfield, Balmoral Hall; Shafagh Daneshfar, Daya Odeshi, Arthur A. Leach; Denisse Samaniego, Holy Cross;

Silver: Hillary Kroeker, Linden Christian; Julia Jones, Melanie LaBossiere, St. Mary's; Emily Wiesenthal, Saelin Bjornson, Dr. George Johnson; Sandy Lee, Laidlaw; Kimberly Dueck, Springfield; Patrick Gutowski, Holy Ghost; Monica Cabral, Holy Ghost;

Gold: Christina Huang, Stephanie Leung, Acadia; Keisha Mendoza, Stanley Knowles; Kyla Siemens, Linden Christian; Matthew Levesque, Grant Park;

Intermediate

Bronze: Ross Nikola Naringahon, St. Boniface Diocesan; Mariana Munoz-Gomez, Jihyun Han, Shaftesbury; Paula Molino, Elenore Panelo, Andrew Mynarski V.C.; Bretton Toop, Trisha Vera, Red River Valley;

Silver: Julianna Pidchuk, Brittany Tankard, St. Boniface Diocesan; Graham McInnis, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Gold: Uma Yakandawala , Fort Richmond ; Kendra Webb, Julie Semenchuk, Andrew Mynarski V.C.;

Senior

Bronze: Nycagee Youn, Kayla Lee, Shaftesbury;

Silver: Meahan Ballard, Shaftesbury; Mark Xu, Aresh Sepheri, St. John's-Ravenscourt;

Gold: Dorothy Yu, Irene Xie, St. John's-Ravenscourt; Juliet Daet, St. Mary's;

Physics

Elementary

Bronze: Ryan Piwniuk, Logan Artimowich, Gillis; Brina Erenberg, Winnipeg Beach;

Silver: Roch Tetrault, Luc Alarie, …cole Christine l'EspÈrance; Erin Gutierrez, Calvin Diaz, Holy Ghost; Elliot Kimelman, Ariel Glikman, Gray; Evan Krosney, Tuxedo Park; Zaha Mohammad, Alhijra Islamic; Matthew Szyszko, Thomas Bialyt, Holy Ghost;

Gold: Monique Coffey, Nicola Kish, MacNeill; Steven Olson, Linden Christian;

Junior

Bronze: Drake Hechter, Laidlaw; Kimberly Faith Domanais, Holy Cross; Megan DaCosta, St. Mary's; Zac Chizda, Grant Park; Monika Kacperkiewicz, Holy Ghost; Dhasni Muthaumuni, Acadia;

Silver: Brenley Toffan, Acadia; Zachery Bozynski, Patrick McCaugherty, Holy Ghost; Nicholas Walker, Golden Gate;

Gold: Voya Jaric, River Heights; Sachin Vijayan, Thyaharajan Visweswaran, Acadia; Emilu Fridrik, St. Mary's; Connor Livingstone, Golden Gate;

Intermediate

Bronze: Patrick Domingo, General Wolfe; Rialine-Ann Tomes, St. Boniface Diocesan; Nikko Aliasut, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Silver: Alfredo Hernandez Melgar, St. Boniface Diocesan;

Gold: Cody Shaw, Fort Richmond;

Best Biology - Animal Science

Elementary

Juliana Perez, Henry G. Izatt, 'Sleep On It!';

Junior

Vasilis Schindle, Brant Argyle School, 'Finding a Cure for Dum-Dum Fever';

Intermediate

Michael Teichman, Grant Park High School, 'DLX Transcription Factors and Regulation of Neuronal Migration During Brain Development';

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 27, 2009 A2