Oct. 26, 2015
Nanoscience students will showcase novel DNA sensor at Harvard
From left, Max Anikovskiy, instructor, and undergraduate students Tyler Chudiak and Vladimir Kabanov
Riley Brandt, University of Calgary
For a second year in a row, the University of Calgary is sending a team of talented from the to compete in Harvard University鈥檚 competition on Oct. 31.
BIOMOD is an annual international biomolecular design competition where undergraduate teams showcase unique things using the molecules of life. Previous contest winners have used DNA, ribonucleic acid and proteins as building blocks to create autonomous robots, molecular computers and prototypes for nanoscale therapeutics.
At the competition, the University of Calgary鈥檚 Tyler James Chudiak 鈥16, Vladimir Kabanov 鈥16, and Raunak Singh 鈥17 will face off against 36 teams from around the globe. The trio will present their novel nano-biosensor, which is able to identify DNA bases by interpreting a unique binary code. This methodology may be very useful in detecting single point DNA mutations.
Sensor directly detects DNA at physiological concentration
鈥淢any DNA biosensors have been developed to date, however a common problem among these sensors is practicality,鈥 says Chudiak who is completing a major in biology and a minor in economics.
鈥淥ur sensor is designed in a way that allows direct detection of DNA at the physiological concentrations seen in human blood samples 鈥 thereby omitting the prevailing costly and time-consuming techniques,鈥 he says. Chudiak will enrol in dental school next year.
The team worked all summer to complete the required BIOMOD competition components, which consists of a nanoscience project supported by a video, a web page and a presentation.
Real-life applications includes improving genetic diagnostics
鈥淏esides acquiring several spectroscopic techniques and working with a number of unique instruments, this project has been key in growing my ability to plan ahead and set milestones,鈥 says Kabanov, who is originally from Kazakhstan. He will be majoring in chemistry with a minor in nanoscience. 鈥淚鈥檝e found that it is much easier and more rewarding when you approach a large project one step at a time."
For Singh, the highlight of the project has been knowing the group鈥檚 work has real-life applications.
鈥淏y simplifying the interpretation of genetic diagnostics, we鈥檝e aimed to improve early and reliable detection of DNA point mutations,鈥 says Singh. He is a chemistry major who is also pursuing a minor in pure mathematics. 鈥淚鈥檓 eager to present these findings and hope the crowd will appreciate our presentation.鈥
Chemistry instructor highlights value of hands-on science
The team鈥檚 work was guided by instructor Max Anikovskiy in the .
鈥淏IOMOD is a great way for ambitious students to gain outstanding hands-on science experience above and beyond their standard course work,鈥 says Anikovskiy. He also supervised last year鈥檚 University of Calgary BIOMOD competition team which finished sixth overall and earned a gold level mention.
鈥淎lthough we want to do well and improve on last year鈥檚 good result, to me, a successful showing would mean representing the University of Calgary with pride and having students recognize the value of their learning journey 鈥 from scoping out their research to working tirelessly on their project and all the way to taking part in the competition,鈥 says Anikovskiy.
The students鈥 project was made possible thanks to support from the nanoscience program at the University of Calgary, , and PURE Awards for summer studentship.