Some Alberta high school students are spending time at professional labs doing real-world science research thanks to the MindFuel program.

Rowan Lind may be only 16 year old, but she is working on her project with PhD scientists as part of the Sanofi Biogenius Canada Competition.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” she said.  “I’ve been able to work with a lot of mentors, scientists and businesspeople who have really worked hard to make the project as great as it could be.”

Her project involves working on Alzheimer’s Disease, and the work is very promising.

“My project is using a certain type of protein and the compound that inhibits those proteins to suppress the inflammation that drives Alzheimer’s Disease. In a person with Alzheimer’s Disease, this may help slow the progression of symptoms and stop the progression of the disease,” she said.

Adley Mok is 17 year old, and is also involved in the program for a very personal reason.

“I was born with a weak immune system, and I always get sick and infections, I’m always on antibiotics, so I want to find something that’s less harmful, and I want to help those with similar cases to me,” he said. “Only a couple of labs worldwide do research similar to this.”

Rowan and Adley are two of 16 kids taking part in the program this year. The high school students get four months to work in the lab on their ideas under the mentorship of scientists. The research isn’t just academic, it could also someday help real patients.

“Every year we spread out across Alberta, getting students to submit project ideas that are research-oriented, that have real-world applications, can be commercialized,” said Cassy Weber, CEO of  Mindfuel.

The program has been around since 1992 and has seen more than 4000 students take part. It’s an exciting opportunity as well for the scientists who participate.

“To start with a young fresh mind was a new perspective for me,” said Dean Gilham, Research Scientist. “But in the same breath this particular student was quite keen and able to understand complex biology and work with it quickly.”

The students head to Edmonton this weekend to take part in the finals of the competition, and winners of the regional competitions will move on to the nationals in Ottawa starting in May.