As early as Grade 3, Chelsea Liao knew that she was interested in becoming a doctor. The daughter of two nurses with a sister who is currently a resident, Chelsea began participating in science fairs in her hometown of Calgary when she was in Grade 5, and with each passing year, she dug deeper into the medical field to find topics that interested her.
In her first three years of competing, Chelsea’s projects gradually became more complex as she first explored sleep, then hand sanitizer, and finally the effectiveness of different menstrual products. That led to this year, with Chelsea now in Grade 8 and preparing to compete in the Calgary Youth Science Fair at the Olympic Oval, when she settled on her most ambitious idea yet: a systematic literature review comparing laparoscopic surgery against robotic surgery for the treatment of endometriosis.
She researched the topic diligently – reading close to 100 scholarly articles – but still had questions that couldn’t necessarily be answered with the literature. So Chelsea tried reaching out to working ob-gyns with her questions, and through Dr. Pamela Chu, a Gynecologic Oncologist in Calgary who is involved with the Calgary Youth Science Fair, Chelsea was introduced to CanSAGE Board Member Dr. Liane Belland. Dr. Belland was not only happy to connect with Chelsea and answer her questions about endometriosis – she wound up attending the CYSF to support Chelsea and see her project in person.
The extra work paid off. Chelsea ultimately won the Gold Medal and the Director’s Award for her project, Endometriosis Treatment: Robotized.
We caught up with Chelsea and Dr. Belland to talk about this unique collaboration, how Chelsea found her way to exploring endometriosis, and her plans for the future.
Congratulations on this great award, Chelsea! First, we’re curious what motivated you to focus on endometriosis for your project?
CHELSEA: I was reading this book called Invisible Women. It looks at these biases we have in a world that’s designed more for men. I came across this story of this young lady who had a lot of menstrual pain, but people kept dismissing what she was saying. Then a decade later, she was diagnosed with endometriosis.
That piqued my interest in this disease. We have this disease that affects a relatively large group of people but we don’t know much about it. It took a decade to diagnose this woman – that was mind-boggling to me.
As I was researching, I was extremely interested in the fact that there is so much we don’t know about endometriosis.
Dr. Belland, when you first heard from Chelsea looking for more information on this project, what struck you about the work she was doing?
DR. BELLAND: Right away, I would say that Chelsea’s questions were incredibly insightful and mature beyond her years. She was asking some very complicated and appropriate questions. She was very well-read on the data, about blood loss, length of stay in the hospital, complications, and even the different approaches.
And to take a step back, I think even to read a book like Invisible Women and to zero in on endometriosis – the lack of diagnosis and the delay in accessing care – I think that is an incredibly unique perspective. It was really impressive.
Chelsea, how did you feel to be honoured the way you were at the Science Fair?
CHELSEA: I was extremely happy. It was also really fulfilling to see that people cared about this project and that they were interested in learning more about endometriosis. I was glad to see that they recognized that this is an important issue even though it’s not talked about much in the general public.
DR. BELLAND: I think that’s a really profound point. There are a lot of pathologies out there and endometriosis deserves just as much attention as more high-profile conditions. A lot of people don’t have that insight and don’t recognize that this can be a lifelong journey for many of our patients.
We’re talking here about change in endometriosis care, and I want people to know that change will sometimes come from the most unexpected and delightful places. I have to say that receiving that email from you, Chelsea, and working with you just exemplifies where that change can come from.
Is it too early to ask Chelsea if you see yourself continuing to study medicine?
CHELSEA: I do feel like I’m probably going to continue in the medical field. In terms of women’s health and gynecology, I think we need more people interested in this area and it’s important to me because we need to continue to ensure that women get the help they need.
I’m hoping that if I can reach that goal of becoming a gynecologist, I can advocate for women’s health in ob-gyn and in the healthcare field as a whole.
