Local student takes home gold medal at Canada Wide Science Fair

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on June 10, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

Graduating Medicine Hat High student Fatema Riaz turned heads over the weekend during the 2025 Canada Wide Science Fair after presenting her research on how to possibly treat bacteria that has become resistant to multiple antibiotics, known as superbugs.

The Grade 12 student’s project won a Senior Gold Medal, meaning it is considered one of the 10 best science fair projects in the country, at the five-day science fair that included the brightest and most innovative students in the country, held this year in Fredericton, N.B.

Additionally, Riaz was awarded a total of $22,000 in entrance scholarships with several high-profile Canadian post-secondary institutions, including Mount Allison University, University of British Columbia, University of New Brunswick, University of Ottawa and Western University.

“These are major awards, and our regional delegation is pleasantly surprised that I was able to earn these awards,” said Riaz. “It’s not every day that someone from such a rural area wins the top awards at the National Science Fair.”

Riaz also won the Senior Challenge for Best Project in the category for Health and Wellness, and earned $1,000.

Last summer, Riaz began her work on antibiotic resistance during a six-week research program at the University of Lethbridge, where she worked under professors at the university’s lab conducting tests on how effective certain antibiotics are against different bacterias and ribosomes.

Over the past weekend Riaz presented findings from her more than 200 hours of research and experimentation in a presentation titled “Antibiotic Stimulated Ribosomal Subunit Joining,” which explores discovering how current antibiotic supplies work, looking specifically if current antibiotics possess a mechanism called modality.

“So we are trying to see if they can stop these ribosomes from forming,” explains Riaz. “If these antibiotics can stop the ribosome from joining completely, then it can stop protein synthesis within the bacteria.”

Riaz hopes her research will lead to future medical advances, and plans to attend medical school following graduation.

Riaz attended Canada’s top science fair with local student Echo Moreton, who was recognized with a $500 award in the Renewable Energy Junior category for the SMART Roof. The pair of students were the lone representatives in the southeast Alberta region.

The Medicine Hat Public School Division announced last week that Riaz is this year’s valedictorian for Medicine Hat High School. Riaz was also one of two students who recently scored a perfect 100 per cent on their Math 30 diploma exams.

Riaz and Medicine Hat High School student Brandon Lee have been recognized as members of the school division’s “100 Club.”

Last year, while in Grade 11, Raiz also aced her Biology 30 exam and scored a 98 per cent on her Chemistry 30 diploma exam.

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