Congratulations to Breanne Semenko, MSc student under Dr. Miyoung Suh, who secured second place at the prestigious 2023 Young Woman Scientist Webinar (2023 YWS Webinar Competition). Organized by the Association of Korean Woman Scientists and Engineers (KWSE), this global competition aims to provide a platform for young women scientists and engineers to present their research ideas and engage in discussions with peers and established experts from around the world.

Semenko’s placement is a result of passing three challenging stages of competition: an abstract submission, a concise 3-minute video-recorded presentation, and a final 7-minute live presentation and questions/answers before a panel of more than ten judges.

Her winning research idea, titled “Accessible Fresh Food Production and Processing to Address Diet-Related Disease in Remote Canada,” tackles a critical issue affecting remote and underserved communities. In many remote regions of Canada, access to fresh and healthy food is limited, leading to an increased prevalence of diet-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Semenko’s research addresses this challenge by exploring innovative methods for sustainable fresh food production and processing in these remote areas. For this work, she has received CIHR-CGS-M as well as more recent award the Prairie Improvement Network Scholarship ($30,000).