IISEF 2007, 2008, 2009

I participated in BASEF for 4 years from grade 8 to 11. I started with a project on tumor angiogenesis and inhibitors and conducted a study on how to cut off blood circulation to cancerous tumors. My second project ended up becoming a 2-year journey that gave me the opportunity to represent Canada at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2007 and 2008. These projects were titled “I have seen the light” and “I have seen the light 2” on Photodynamic therapy. Treatment time calculation for patients receiving Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for skin cancers is based on light beam diameter, power (irradiance) and fluence. This results in irregular measurements and treatment time, as the patient’s tumor surface is irregular. This project developed an accurate way to calculate treatment time by finding a relationship between source distance and irradiance. In IISEF 2008, I placed 4th in the category Medicine and Health Sciences. For my third time as a finalist at IISEF, my project was titled “Real Time Radiation Dose Deviations not Configured by a Brachytherapy Treatment Planning System used in Cancer Treatment”. Brachytherapy treats a patient’s cancer from inside their body as a catheter tip maybe partially inserted into the tumour to radiate the tumor from the catheter tip. A computerised treatment-planning-system (TPS) generates a plan for the patient’s treatment based on dose prescription. An afterloader is a computerised brachytherapy unit that sends a pellet of Iridium-192 into a hollow catheter for treatment, causing tumor shrinkage so that subsequent insertions are done completely through tumor lumen. This study compared the relative doses generated by a point-source by an autoradiograph obtained by passing a point-source inside a Teflon treatment catheter.

BASED and IISEF were important events in my life as they allowed me gain research skills, be intrigued about why things happens, and how to find solutions to a problem. It allowed to me to gain public speaking skills, answer questions concisely, and how to efficiently work when juggling multiple activities. I constantly use these skills currently in my life. I graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) in 2015. Currently, I am a first year law student at McGill University. In the past few years, my work has taken a more holistic approach where an individual’s psychosocial environment and life are taken into consideration when assisting them with their problems. I work is primarily with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and mental health trauma. Law has given me an outlet to address these problems at a more macro scale through institutional change. Hence, I thank BASEF and IISEF for allowing me to develop as an individual with multiple interests and passion for change within our society.