Grade 11 student Mitchell Ormann is taking advantage of a unique opportunity prior to his final year at Olds High School by getting some hands-on experience in microbiology over the summer.
Ormann is among 22 Grade 11 students from around the province conducting research into bovine mastitis, the potentially fatal inflammation of a cow's udder caused by bacteria, with professor Herman Barkema at the University of Calgary.
“It's a really cool experience,” Ormann said. “(July 12) they had a board meeting and invited me to come watch and it's cool because every student there will present what they've been doing during the week. They give us suggestions on how to improve,” he said.
He and his cohorts are trying to identify all species in the group of bacteria known as coagulase-negative staphylococci, which causes mastitis in cows.
The condition costs cattle farmers a lot of money, so by identifying the precise bacteria that are responsible for the disease, better courses of treatment could be found, saving ranchers money, Ormann said. While some treatments already exist, nothing has been found to cure the disease at this point.
“This (research) would help to isolate more what the real problem is and then create a better (solution) for it,” he said.
Ormann and his group enlarge bacteria, then take samples of them and put them in a sterile water solution in a petri dish, where the bacteria are allowed to grow for 24 hours. The bacteria's appearance is then analyzed and the DNA extracted, measured and its spectrum analyzed, hoping to identify which bacteria cause the disease.
Ormann said he applied to the project after OHS biology teacher Marilyn Wallace told him about the opportunity. The work, part of the Heritage Youth Researcher Summer Program at the University of Calgary, also involves going to various other sites to learn about gene therapy. The work started on July 8 and runs for six weeks.
The experience has solidified Ormann's desire to pursue research in gene therapy or some other type of medical research. He said it's been a good way to get a start on Grade 12 biology and his future plans.
Dwayne Brunner, media relations manager for Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions, the agency that sponsors the Heritage Youth Researcher Summer Program, said the program received 195 applications this year from 83 high schools around the province and filled the 22 student positions at the University of Calgary, another 22 positions at the University of Alberta and five at the University of Lethbridge. This is the 14th year of the program, which funds health research.
Brunner said another objective of the program is to give students in Grade 11 a research experience and hopefully spark their interest in a medical research career. Most of the past students that took part in the program have gone on to become physicians, he said, while a smaller number have gone into the medical research field.
