'I wanted to learn what research is all about'

The University of Calgary again welcomed 22 Alberta high school students into biomedical and health-related research laboratories as part of the 2017 Alberta Innovates Heritage Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS) program.

HYRS is a six-week science program that gives Grade 11 students the opportunity to experience research first-hand in a laboratory setting. Each student is paired with a faculty member at UCalgary to complete a research project throughout July and August. Each student is awarded a $2,500 stipend from Alberta Innovates for their work during the program.

Katherine Hovdestad, a student from Westmount Charter School, is a participant in this year’s program. “I applied (to HYRS) because I wanted to learn what research is all about,” she says. “It sounds very prestigious, and I wanted to see what the day-to-day life is like.”

Hovdestad is working in Mark Ungrin’s laboratory, looking at how biorobotics can be used to optimize stem cell growth. “It’s very fulfilling work,” she says. “I feel very involved in the lab, like I’m contributing to the research process.”

Joseph Girgis, a participant from St. Francis High School, is conducting health economics research under the supervision of Alexander Whalley. “We’re looking at barriers to commercializing cancer treatments in Canada,” Girgis says. “Essentially, we’re trying to answer this question: How do we get discoveries in cancer research out of the lab and into the hands of the people who will benefit from them?”

Throughout HYRS, students are exposed to a variety of research areas in health sciences. “I’ve worked in a biochemistry lab before, but this is a whole different side of research,” Girgis says. “Now I’m looking at what happens to the research after a discovery has been made.”

The overall goal of the HYRS program is to give Grade 11 students a hands-on perspective of what a career in health research looks like.

“I retain so much more from the lab than I do in the classroom,” says Anchita Shonak, a HYRS participant from The Renert School in Calgary. “The best part is being able to ask questions from more experienced people in the lab.”

Shonak is working in a biotherapeutics laboratory, supervised by Roman Krawetz. “I’ve enjoyed every part of HYRS so far,” she says. “I can’t recommend it highly enough!”

At the end of the program, HYRS students create and present a scientific poster that showcases the findings of their research projects. The posters are presented at the annual HYRS Open House, an event that celebrates the work of the students during their six weeks on campus.

“The greatest thing about HYRS is that it revealed goals to me that I never had before,” Hovdestad says. “It’s showed me what my future could actually be, and introduced me to fields that need to be explored and discovered.”

Shonak agrees. “I’ve learned that you don’t necessarily need to be the smartest person in the room; you just need to be really passionate about something and willing to learn.”

This year’s Open House will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the HRIC Atrium on Foothills Campus. All are welcome to attend.

For further details about the HYRS program or the Open House event, please contact Marissa Montgomery at mlmontgo@ucalgary.ca.