Judges at new research day were small but mighty

On Thursday, Aug. 18, six undergraduate summer student researchers presented their projects to a pretty unique group of judges: a bunch of 5th graders.

As part of the D+H Sunnybrook Research Institute Summer Student Research Day, summer students were invited to submit a simple summary of their work in a way the lay public – even kids – would understand. More than 30 projects were submitted.

Six soon-to-be 5th graders visited Sunnybrook with their parents to take part in judging the finalists.

Elias Hazan, a third-year undergraduate biology major at Queen’s University, took home the first-place ribbon (and a cash prize) for his presentation about using clock drawing to see if patients have a concussion. The young students didn’t let Elias off easy, peppering him with questions about brain healing, his evaluation scale and more.

“When I heard about the competition, it intrigued me both as an opportunity and as a challenge,” Elias said. “It was a chance to try to show kids, who likely have limited exposure to this side of science, what ‘research’ is and how it really is relatable to everyday life.”

He said he liked the challenge of stepping away from complex jargon to explain his work in a way so that most people could understand.

The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to involve patients and the community in all aspects of the health-care setting.

“It felt good to see the kids and their parents engaged in both my own work and the incredible work of some of the other summer research students,” Elias said. “The work we do is supposed to help everyday people so it is important for researchers to remain in touch and understood by their larger audience - the general population.”

Fifth-grader Isabella said she really enjoyed the day, particularly the visit to the flow cytometry lab, where cells are sorted. "I might actually consider being a scientist when I grow up," she said after the event.

Congrats to Elias and the other finalists: Samuel Penner, Nhu Nguyen, Violet Yue Guo, James (Byungjin) Kim and Christian Cheung. And a big thank you to our 5th graders: Cole, Sila, Isabella, Sammy, Max and Annika!