17-YEAR-OLD SAMI OBAID HAS STEPPED INTO THE RESEARCH RING, AND IS GETTING 
READY TO DELIVER A KNOCK-OUT PUNCH TO PARKINSON’S DISEASE AND A HOST OF OTHER 
DEGENERATIVE DISORDERS.
 By Mathieu Larocque
When Sami Obaid first saw Christopher Reeve in a wheelchair, he wondered how 
Superman could have ended up in such a predicament.
Later on, Sami found himself asking the same question the day he saw the great 
prizefighter Mohammed Ali—who could once “float like a butterfly, sting like 
a bee”—suffering from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease. 
Spurred on by his own curiosity and the Science Fair program at his high 
school—Collège Regina Assumpta in Laval, Quebec—17-year-old Sami stepped into 
the research ring. He brought with him a determination to knock out the 
degenerative disorders—including Parkinson’s disease—that had struck down his 
idols and continue to affect millions of people worldwide.
Parkinson’s disease causes tremors, muscular rigidity, and speech problems, 
and sometimes confusion or dementia as well. It results from deterioration in 
the neurons that produce dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (a 
substance that transmits brain signals) in the nervous system, and comes into 
play in the neurons that control body movements. In Parkinson’s disease, the 
brain is short of dopamine; this translates into motor impairments. 
 In his fight against these degenerative disorders, Sami’s challenge was to 
attack the problem from an original angle. Although a great deal of research 
has been conducted into this phenomenon and is still underway, Sami wanted an 
innovative approach that would make his work different. He came across the 
answer in ancient Chinese writings in a book about stem cells that quoted the 
centuries-old Chinese maxim “the brain is a sea of marrow.”
 After thinking about this idea, the young researcher set about developing a 
way to alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms by using new neurons from a plentiful 
source: bone marrow. The Chinese were right. Although studies have been done 
on neuron production from bone marrow, the novel aspect of Sami’s work is 
that the neurons extracted from bone marrow produce dopamine. 
 Sami’s promising research has earned him many awards. In 2005, his experiment 
entitled À la rescousse du Parkinson! was successful at every stage of the 
Canadian Wide Science Fair (CWSF). In May 2005, he went to Phoenix, Arizona, 
to represent Canada at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 
where he won second place in the medical category. He also took first place 
at the Aventis Biotechnology Challenge (ABC) in Montreal. In 2004, with 
another experiment, he won a number of prizes in the ABC and the CWSF, and a 
place on Canada’s team at the International Science Fair in Chile in July 
2005. 
  
 Although many universities are ready to welcome Sami when he finishes high 
school—he has been awarded scholarships from Université de Montréal, the 
University of Western Ontario, and the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières—
he has his eye on McGill University. For the last two years, his research 
into Parkinson’s and neurons has been conducted in Dr. Josephine 
Nalbantoglu’s Montreal Neurological Institute research laboratory, at McGill 
University, under the supervision of Dr. Nicolay Ferrari. “I want to continue 
my studies there,” says Sami. “I was made very welcome at McGill.” Dr. 
Ferrari hopes his protégé will continue his research at McGill. “A résumé 
like Sami’s opens all the doors.” 
 He is so passionate about science that when the Conseil de développement du 
loisir scientifique du Québec asked him to be the coordinator of the science 
promotion program known as Student Mentorship Association Regarding 
Technology & Science (SMARTS), he readily agreed. “I was honoured to take on 
this mission,” says Sami. “I’ve always wanted to spread my passion and 
introduce other Canadian kids to science.” His job is to help Quebec’s 
budding researchers to find labs to conduct their research projects. 
 But intellectual pursuits don’t take up all his time. Exercise and sports 
also play an important part. In addition to spending a few hours every day at 
Dr. Ferrari’s lab, Sami is a black belt and Pan American Tae Kwon Do gold 
medalist, and top scorer in his elite league college soccer team. He also 
plays golf and tennis. Sami credits sport with motivating him to take his 
scientific research to the highest level. 
 When asked how he finds time to excel at everything he does, Sami says time 
management is the key. “I have to be highly organized—my day is scheduled to 
the minute,” he stresses. He acknowledges that his parents make his hectic 
life easier by ferrying him to all these activities. They also play a prime 
role in the pursuit of his goals. For the Obaid family, education is 
paramount. Sami and his sister can count on their parents’ wholehearted 
support when it comes to education. “They often tell me that education is the 
one thing they can bequeath to me.” 
It’s safe to say that Sami will use this inheritance from his parents to full 
advantage. With the many doors open to him at Canadian universities, this 
young researcher can take his time to choose the ideal environment in which 
to pursue his research. Maybe one day he’ll even attain his ultimate goal: 
“To achieve something great for humanity.”
Learn More:
For more information about Sami’s research: 
SMARTS Network
University of Western Ontario - Sami Obaid
For more information about Parkinson’s Society Canada :
www.parkinson.ca
http://www.innovationcanada.ca/17/en/articles/great-hope.html

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