A team of UWindsor undergraduate science students brought home a monetary prize from a national competition promoting research into brain tumours.

Alexander Rodzinka, Fatima Nadeem, and Jake Frank won second place — a $750 dollar cash prize — at the Pam and Rolando Del Maestro Family Undergraduate Student Research Competition, held at the 2018 Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada National Conference on October 19.

The competition showcased the work of students in the area of brain tumour research, with the aim of engaging and encouraging younger generations to further pursue this important research.

Each student team was provided with a brain tumour case study and tasked with devising a proposal for scientific research that addresses one or more issues it raised. These proposals were presented and judged at the competition.

Team member Alexander Rodzinka says he learned a lot participating in the conference, and that it was a great opportunity to connect with the brain tumour community and meet people affected by the disease.

“I felt very proud to be able to represent the University of Windsor and to showcase the work that undergraduate students are doing here,” says Rodzinka. “It was great to show that we are conducting meaningful research in hopes for a better future for those affected.”

The student team had previously competed at the London Brain Tumour Research Symposium and Student Competition as a preliminary, which allowed them to advance to the finals for monetary prizes as one of the top four teams.

—Darko Milenkovic