Veda Sharpe, Erin Ford, Emma Griffin, and Simon Zacharias Bezanson

BHSc Team wins Undergraduate Science Case Competition

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Mon, 12/04/2023 - 11:50

In Winter 2023, Veda Sharpe, Erin Ford, Emma Griffin, and Simon Zacharias Bezanson entered the Undergraduate Science Case Competition (USCC) hosted by UOttawa, with their proposal on Vitamin K supplementation for prevention of teratogenic neurological calcification in fetuses with Congenital Zika Syndrome. After the final round in mid-March (a live presentation to a panel of judges), this BHSc student team achieved the First Place standing out of a variety of university teams from across Canada. Their proposal has been published in the URNCST journal and can be accessed here: https://urncst.com/index.php/urncst/article/view/493

“This case competition tasked us with developing and presenting a novel proposal to solve a current issue in the field of neuroscience. Elaboration on topics from BHSC core courses, such as REPD 371 at Bader College, drove the inspiration for this project and facilitated the teamwork that allowed us to come together to work towards this substantial goal. The critical thinking approach and research-based courses that BHSC provides were essential in developing the skills required for our achievement, giving us all the tools we needed to succeed.” – Veda

“For me, problem-based learning methods used in the BHSC program ultimately permitted the evolution of a mid-afternoon idea into our passion project. Since BHSC is founded on application, critical thought, and collaboration, our academic backgrounds effectively poured the concrete for our research process, thus our success in this competition. Beyond the branches of academics, the ability to research and compete with my best friends might have been the most fruitful part.” – Emma

“This started as an idea we had over lunch one day, and it developed into a feasible, novel project that we are all so proud of. The Bachelor of Health Sciences program goes above and beyond by fostering curiosity and critical thinking skills through its inquiry-based, flipped model. That model was what helped us take our project to the next level – by diving headfirst into a real-life problem and finding a creative, novel solution.” - Erin

“From this experience, the practical learning aspect was a massive takeaway for me. Considering how the social determinants of health that have been a keystone of our core classes played into our design and problem-solving with everyone’s unique lens was tons of fun. The BHSC program’s focus on collaboration throughout the curriculum formed a solid steppingstone for undertaking this kind of project. Further, to develop the idea through the entire academic process and know it was completely ours helped build my confidence in real life teamwork.” – Simon

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BHSc Team wins Undergraduate Science Case Competition