Burning fuels such as gasoline and diesel in our vehicles causes green house gas emissions and it is a major cause of global warming. If electric vehicles replace gasoline powered vehicles, the emission will be much lower. The peak power demand of an electric vehicle during acceleration is the key factor for its battery size. The large battery size causes less optimal use of energy and finally ends up with lower mileage in electric vehicles. These limitations could be solved by combination of battery system with supercapacitors.

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is a protein known to be involved in a wide array of cancers. Although there are currently 4 approved HDAC inhibitors to date, these drugs lack the selectivity to only target HDAC6, given its high structural similarities with 10 other HDAC proteins, resulting in severe side-effects in patients such as nausea, diarrhea, and cardiac toxicities. Moreover, these approved drugs are also easily eliminated by the body, requiring the patients to take high doses frequently, further worsening the toxicity profile.

Most Canadians live in the urban regions, and most Canadian cities receive snow every year. For instance, Montreal receives about 2.3 meter of snow every year. This snow accommodates various human-made pollutants in cities and accumulates over long Canadian winter. This application to support an intern which will be involved in a collaborative project with PO-labs within PRIMA Quebec aiming to build upon the new innovation at McGill using clay minerals. We intend to use these traps to remove pollutants in snow.

In Ontario, 95% of its paved roads in the province are paved with asphalt or asphalt surface treated. Due to severe weather conditions, the lifetime of asphalt roads is relatively short and regular maintenance is required. The annual cost of maintenance is estimated to be around 2.14 billion dollars. This project aims to explore nanotechnology to increase the lifetime of asphalt roads by exploring nanomaterials with anti-oxidation activities. Liposomes will be used as a model system for the initial studies and asphalt doped liposomes and finally asphalt will be tested.

The present project proposes a new type of antioxidant drug as a way to reduce genetically the probability of appearance of degenerative diseases, e.g. different cancers, Alzheimer’s disease and Atherosclerosis. The general idea is to combine two different types of compounds with antioxidant properties: nanomaterials and certain molecules extracted from a cuban plant with the goal to enhance their biological properties. In other words: if we combine two antioxidants in one, the resultant is even better. To design these new drugs we will use in principle computer modeling.

Rapidly detecting SARS-CoV-2 in infected individuals remains a critical problem in Canada. The current detection method is hindered by the need for highly trained personnel and expensive laboratory equipment. Such requirements cause long wait times and reduce the ability to manage the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. This Mitacs Accelerate project aims at addressing such problems, i.e., developing a rapid, easy-to-use, point of care (POC) detection system for hospitals, airports, long-term care facilities and working places.

The project will entail the production and characterization of hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ), a useful material for both lithography and production of silicon nanomaterials. This material is the workhorse for Applied Quantum Materials Inc. (AQM), as it is one of their central products that they supply to the e-beam lithography industry as well as the precursor for their silicon nanomaterials.

In beer manufacturing, the liquefaction and saccharification process utilizes heat, alkaline and acid washes to break down complex sugars into wort (simple sugars) leading to destruction of desirable bioactive compounds. Beer manufacturers are keen to use green technology and non-starch plant materials from agri-food by-products. Province Brands has developed its proprietary methods for brewing from cannabis plant waste (stems, stalks, roots).

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) is a not-for-profit public-private partnership research organization that aims to accelerate the discovery of new medicines through open science. This Mitacs cluster will bring together SGC’s industry and academic collaborators to work together towards new and affordable medicines for challenging diseases. Sixty-three post-doctoral fellows will spend 2-3 years developing open source tools and knowledge for previously understudied proteins, thereby unlocking new areas of biology and identifying new opportunities for drug discovery.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), as a promising method for energy storage, have been widely used in our daily lives, and the boosting development of electric vehicles and electronic devices requires LIBs with a higher operation voltage. However, their safety problems are always a threat because of the unstable Li salt and flammable organic solvents in the commercialized electrolytes.