Grade 12 student wins award for alzheimers work

By Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun – April 10, 2009

Volunteer work at a seniors’ home inspired Delta Grade 12 student Linda Liu to conduct scientific research she hopes could lead to improved treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Liu earned first place in the $3,000 2009 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge — or SABC — in the B.C. region for her study into the tangling of the tau protein that causes neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

She discovered that rhubarb extract possesses the ability to preserve the structure of the protein by inhibiting its tangling.

Tau proteins are abundant in neurons in the central nervous system.

The idea of studying the causes of Alzheimer’s came to the student from Sands Secondary School in Delta when she was helping old people who were in a state of chronic confusion.

“I really saw how devastating Alzheimer’s disease is,” said Liu. “It’s so scary. I was constantly telling people who they were, who I was and where they were.”

Liu, whose parents moved to Canada from China 14 years ago, began looking into possible research topics online last summer. She had earlier researched traditional Chinese medicines, but this time turned to ancient medicines from India.

She learned that foods with an astringent taste were believed, in the Indian tradition, to increase vata, a sort of life force. She had also read that Western scientists had decided that astringent plants such as mulberry, turmeric and persimmon could help inhibit Alzheimer’s.

So she decided to test the astringent rhubarb on the tau protein. She conducted a series of trials earlier this year at Simon Fraser University, where she was provided laboratory time and help from a graduate chemistry student.

“The point was to prevent a protein from ‘misholding’ — to get it to keep its structure.”

She will travel to Ottawa to compete in the national SABC competition on May 5. The competition will be judged by a panel of experts at the National Research Council.

This is the second consecutive placing for Liu in the competition, having placed second in 2008 as a member of a team that performed research on human melanoma cells.

Liu loves science because of its “ability to change the world.”

“It’s like a bunch of puzzle pieces that in the end fit together.”

Liu, whose school average is more than 95 per cent, has been offered scholarships by many Canadian universities.

Besides being a brainiac, Liu loves surfing at Tofino. Despite her success in science competitions, she may not pursue a career in scientific research.

“I really want something that will combine my two passions: science and humanitarianism.

“So I would really like to become a medical doctor and work for Doctors Without Borders.”