Youth-led Science Expo enhances sickle cell disease awareness & research

On May 16, 2026, Canadian Blood Services’ head office location in Ottawa welcomed members of the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (SCAGO) and the SCAGO Youth Empowerment Program for a sickle cell science expo. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood condition that affects approximately 6,000 people across Canada. 

The event, which was led by SCAGO with support from Canadian Blood Services and presented in English and French, was an opportunity to celebrate research activities that seek to build understanding of sickle cell disease. The event provided an opportunity for community members to gather, share, connect, and learn. 

Kimya Elese, the project lead for this event, conceptualized the expo idea and brought it to life with the support of funding from SCAGO’s Youth Empowerment Program.

Says Kimya, "With this Expo, my goal was to bring research out of the labs to engage families while empowering the next generation of scientists."

Several Canadian Blood Services staff members were in attendance to support the event, including members of the innovation and inclusion, sustainability and engagement divisions, as well as vice president of quality and regulatory affairs Steven Carswell who offered opening comments. 

Canadian Blood Services staff scientists Dr. Harinad (Hari) Maganti and Dr. Jennie Haw also provided research posters to display during the event, adding to the scientific elements represented. Dr. Maganti was in attendance and Dr. Haw’s poster was accompanied by knowledge mobilization staff members who enjoyed many great conversations with attendees. 

Dr. Maganti’s poster described current stem cell research undertaken in his laboratory that aims to advance the availability of off-the-shelf, curative therapies for up to 30 genetic conditions, including sickle cell disease. Dr. Haw’s poster described the results of research that explored Canadian blood donor’s views on current and potential future uses of genetic information in a blood donation context, and found that most participants would not be deterred from donating based on the use of genetic information to support better donor-recipient matching, public health data, donor wellness and recruitment.

The designated judges for the science expo included Rugi Jalloh, Ellis Westwood, and Dr. Ewurabena Simpson – a pediatric hematologist/oncologist, member of the CHEO Research Institute and the physician lead for the CHEO Sickle Cell Disease program – who observed the displays of two youth presenters and assigned top prizes to both.

The presentations included:

• "Flow Interrupted”, presented by University of Ottawa biopharmaceutical sciences student Ketsia Musungu. Ketsia’s highly-visual presentation demonstrated the way that sickle-shaped red blood cells can become “stuck” in veins, causing painful blockages known as occlusion. These cause pain crises that are one of the primary symptoms of SCD. 

  

• “Reflections from Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in Ontario on Hospital Care Experiences” presented by Patricia Defo, a student in the Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences program at the University of Ottawa, which shared the results of a study focused on identifying areas of improvement in SCD patient-provider interactions and healthcare settings by capturing the lived experiences of individuals with SCD. The poster offered a thematic analysis of open-text survey responses gathered on a 46-question survey that was distributed between July 2019 – February 2020 through SCAGO’s website.

  

The event was an excellent celebration of the power of youth and the next generation of researchers to advance patient care and strengthen the blood system.

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.  

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.