Posted on May 14: Local high school student off to Canada-wide science competition with help from McMaster mentors
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Natalie-Raso_opt.gif” caption=”Natalie Raso”]A desire to study the effects of salt consumption in causing gastric cancer with some of the best researchers in Canada is sending a Grade 9 student of St. Thomas More Catholic secondary school to a national science fair.
Natalie Raso is headed to St. John's, Nfld. on May 15. She qualified when she came in second at the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF) in March with her research project on Helicobacter pylori in the development of gastric cancer.
She completed her research at McMaster under the guidance of Richard Hunt, and his research associate Rene Padol, Ph.D, of the Intestinal Disease Research Program.
“My aim was to investigate the relationship between the bug (H.pylori) and a high salt diet, to see if it increased cell proliferation, which may develop into stomach cancer,” said Raso.
“I looked at the rates of cell proliferation in the gastric mucosa (the stomach lining) in three groups of gerbils, to determine whether an increased rate equaled a higher risk. I came to the conclusion that high salt consumption combined with H.pylori infection increases the chance of gastric cancer.”
Having participated in science fairs since Grade four and done very well at the BASEF in Grades 7 and 8, Raso was determined to do even better in Grade 9. “I was up against some stellar competition,” she said.
Intrigued by an article she read in a nutrition newsletter, about bacteria that lived in the stomach lining, she began investigating who might be doing research in this area and came upon Hunt at McMaster University.
She had read news articles about another high school student, Eva Vertes, a former BASEF winner from Hamilton, who arranged to work under the guidance of McMaster researcher Michel Rathbone. Raso emailed Vertes, who is now at Princeton University. “Eva was an inspiration, said Raso. Her advice was to work hard, don't give up, and find someone who can help you.”
Raso contacted Hunt, a world-renowned expert in the area of Helicobacter related diseases, about her research idea. “He was very supportive and he arranged for me to meet Rene Padol, who works closely with him at McMaster University and is also an expert in this area. Padol was so generous, always going out of his way.”
She was a good student, said Padol. “Although most of the scientific concepts and technical expertise involved in this project were new to Natalie, she was able to grasp them in a timely, professional and creative manner.”
Raso said: “Dr. Hunt and Dr. Padol provided resources, arranged for safety training and taught me lab procedures. It was so much more than giving me lab space. They guided me and were my mentors.”
Education is important to Hunt, who recently helped fund a new endowed professorial chair at McMaster, the Richard Hunt-AstraZeneca Chair in Gastroenterology. The first chair holder is Paul Moayyedi, an expert in population-based research into common gastrointestinal disorders and health services delivery.
“It's critical for us to create opportunities for exceptional students like Natalie,” said Hunt. “The quality of Natalie's work is outstanding and would stand up to rigorous appraisal. We're immensely proud of her.”
Natalie Raso lives in Hamilton with her mom Catherine and her dad, Joe, who is also McMaster's basketball coach. Both of her parents are McMaster grads '83. She has a sister and brother.
She is looking forward to a career in science and medicine, and is considering a MD-PhD program in oncology research.
For more information see: http://basef.mcmaster.ca/2004/results/gallery/display_project.cgi?project_id=L09
Photo caption: Natalie Raso in research associate Rene Padol's lab. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay
