The Farncombe Institute supports the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF)
The Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute (FDHRI) is committed to supporting the next generation of scientists and has actively participated in BASEF for the last decade. BASEF is a regional fair for young students to explore their interests in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and gain recognition for their effort. Farncombe Institute faculty members Dr.Elena Verdu, Dr. Jan Huizinga, Dr. Mike Surette and Dr. Alberto Caminero participated as special judges and adjudicators for the Farncombe Institute Student Awards.
In 2023, BASEF returned to the in-person event format since the COVID-19 pandemic and took place at Mohawk College in Hamilton. Our Institute awarded cash prizes and interviews for potential internships to the best 3 projects that explored digestive health, general nutrition, or the human microbiome in health or disease through experimentation or in-depth literature review. Merit and Special award winners were selected from 222 projects presented during the event. The judging was completed by this year by Dr. Caminero along with a team of Farncombe graduate Ph.D students including Amber Hann, Mark Wulczynski, and Liam Rondeau.
Mark Wulczynski (left), Amber Hann (middle), Dr. Alberto Caminero (middle) and Liam Rondeau (right).
Congratulations to The Farncombe Institute BASEF 2023 winners!
1st Place: Isra Bashir, grade 12 from Westdale secondary school for the design of novel integrated glucose and ketone test strip prototype that could simultaneously provide patients with an accurate reading of their current glucose and ketone concentrations.
2nd Place: Anthony Efthimiadis, grade 7-8 from W. H. Morden Public Schoolfor an artificial intelligence convolutional neural network that detects basal cell carcinoma.
3rd Place: Jeena Chhinzer, grade 7-8, Dr. David R Williams for finding the “dirtiest” locations in her school using microbiology culture techniques to identify which surfaces have the most bacteria.