HDSB Students Excel and Earn Top Honours at Canada-Wide Science Fair

Student: Evan Budz

Awarded: Silver Medal - Intermediate, the Environment and Climate Change Challenge Award, and a Youth Can Innovate Award

School and Grade: Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School, Grade 10

Inspiration behind the project: I was inspired with the idea for this project after watching a documentary that focused on the problem of microplastics across Earth’s waterways. I have been interested in environmental issues for some time and wanted to help research activities from a technological standpoint.

“I feel incredibly privileged to participate in the CWSF and to be part of such an inspiring community. Meeting hundreds of like-minded young scientists from across Canada and learning about the diverse range of projects they have developed has been a truly rewarding experience.”

Student: Imran Allarakhia

Awarded: Gold Medal - Intermediate, the Digital Technology Challenge Award, and a Youth Can Innovate Award 

School and Grade: Abbey Park High School, Grade 10 

Inspiration behind the project: The inspiration behind the project was deeply personal. My great-grandmother experienced Alzheimer's disease and was isolated in long-term care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her passing during that period inspired me to explore how robotics and artificial intelligence could help address loneliness, caregiving shortages and quality of life challenges faced by older adults.

“This was my fourth time at the Canada‑Wide Science Fair and my second time competing in Edmonton. I truly enjoyed every moment. It’s always inspiring making new connections with people from across the country, reconnecting with old friends who have been part of my journey since the beginning and taking on a mentor role for the junior participants. Supporting them is incredibly meaningful. Equally, the public viewing days are the days I particularly look forward to as they provide me with the opportunity to talk with students as young as three years old, parents and grandparents, who enjoy interacting with CareBotix.

CWSF continues to offer experiences and opportunities that shape who we become as young scientists. This year gave me the chance to share my research and reflect on how far I have come since competing in 2023. What makes CWSF so special is that it is not just a competition. It is a celebration of science, creativity, passion and the power of bringing like‑minded peers together. The friendships and partnerships formed here truly last a lifetime.”

Student: Jasmine Wang

Awarded: Silver Medal - Senior

School and Grade: Iroquois Ridge High School, Grade 11

Inspiration behind the project: The project came together after I spent time reading various research papers and saw a way to connect that information with my background in Machine Learning. I chose to apply this to robotics because I enjoy the hands-on aspect of building and testing physical systems.

“Participating in the Canada-Wide Science Fair was an incredible experience. After working on this project for the past year, it was really rewarding to share my work and get feedback from the judges. The best part was definitely the opportunity to meet and learn from so many other talented student scientists from across Canada.”

Students: Rahul Rao and Vivaan Kar

Awarded: Silver Medal - Intermediate 

School and Grade: White Oaks Secondary School, Grade 9

Inspiration behind the project: We have always been interested in biomedical technologies and the treatment of various diseases. Specifically for Alzheimer’s Disease, we have seen the impact it can have on individuals and families, which led us to centre our project on creating an effective treatment for the disease.

Rahul: “I loved the experience of learning about all the innovative projects and spending time making new friends in Edmonton.”

Vivaan: “The Canada-Wide Science Fair was an amazing experience. It was very interesting to learn about everybody's projects and it was really fun to meet so many new people.”

Students: Taeyeon Eum and Eva Duan

Awarded: Bronze Medal - Senior and COSIA Collaboration in Innovation Special Award

School and Grade: Oakville Trafalgar High School, Grade 11

Inspiration behind the project: I first learned about ALS through the Ice Bucket Challenge — friends were doing it for fun, and I got curious about what the disease actually was. That curiosity grew into hundreds of hours of independent research. ALS is a devastating disease with very few treatment options, and we kept coming back to two different but connected questions: how do you predict how a patient's disease will progress, and how do you find the right molecular targets to treat it? With ASCEND-ALS, Eva and I built a platform with two arms to address both — one (ASCEND-Clinical) uses machine learning on large ALS patient datasets to model disease progression, and the other (ASCEND-Target) helps prioritize antisense oligonucleotide therapy targets for the RNA changes seen in ALS. We were drawn to the idea that computational tools could connect the clinical side of ALS — understanding patients — with the molecular side of designing better treatments.

"It's one thing to do research, just us two at a desk; it's another to stand in front of judges and a whole community of young scientists and defend it. CWSF pushed us to explain our work clearly and showed me how much further I want to take it."

"The best part of the Canada-Wide Science Fair was being surrounded by people from every corner of the country who care about the same things I do. For once, I wasn't the only one excited to talk about research for hours — I made friends from across Canada who genuinely get it, and that meant just as much to me as the science."

Students: Daniyal and Zayn Qazi

Awarded: Bronze Medal - Intermediate 

School and Grade: Iroquois Ridge High School, Grade 9

Inspiration behind the project: The inspiration behind this project comes from the high prevalence and frequent underdiagnosis of apical periodontitis, a dental infection that can progress silently and lead to serious complications such as bone loss and tooth loss. Early diagnosis is challenging because identifying dental infections in X-ray images requires careful analysis of subtle anatomical features and low-contrast regions, which can result in inconsistencies even among experienced clinicians. This challenge is especially significant in underserved regions where access to specialists is limited. These barriers motivated the development of a fully automated AI-powered solution to support clinicians by improving the accuracy, consistency, and accessibility of dental infection detection from dental X-rays.

Zayn: "Being around so many passionate students reminded me how much there is still to learn and how exciting this journey can be".

Daniyal: "CWSF 2026 was an unforgettable experience filled with innovation, learning and the opportunity to connect with brilliant young scientists from across the country".

Students: Moeen Shahid and Andy Wang

Awarded: Bronze Medal - Intermediate 

School and Grade: Oakville Trafalgar High School, Grade 10

Inspiration behind the project: We were inspired by the challenge of improving treatment outcomes for patients with Major Depressive Disorder, many of whom do not respond to their first prescribed antidepressant. The project also allowed us to combine our interests: Moeen's passion for computer science and artificial intelligence with Andy's interest in biology and health sciences. By applying machine learning techniques to brain imaging data, we explored how technology and medicine can work together to support more personalized mental health care.

“Participating in the Canada-Wide Science Fair was an incredible opportunity to share our research with students, judges, and researchers from across Canada. We enjoyed learning from other young innovators, receiving feedback from experts and seeing the wide range of projects tackling important real-world challenges. Receiving a Bronze Medal was a rewarding experience that encouraged us to continue pursuing our interests in science and technology.”