The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a serious threat to humanity worldwide. It is known that COVID-19 is a respiratory infection, which can be transmitted from person to person via small aerosolized droplets. The goal of this project is to develop advanced functional graphene-based nanocomposites with robust antiviral and antibacterial activities. The graphene-based nanocomposite layer not only filters out particulates, but also binds with and disinfects coronavirus.

Climate change has been a top concern of Canadians for the past several years. Canada is among 3 top global CO2 emitters per capita. Our goal is to develop and commercialize a viable solar energy harvesting system to help Canada decarbonize its economy.
Amorphous silicon has the most mature technology in the photovoltaic market. Silicon solar cells are mostly used in solar farms or installed on roofs.

Cannabidiol, is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid has anecdotal and preliminary evidence as a treatment for pain, anxiety, nausea and seizures. This project aims to identify the configuration of CBD when bound in the brain. We will use established computational techniques that have not been applied to CBD binding to calculate the pose that CBD adopts when bound to the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1). Using the identified configuration, we will design modifications to CBD that will increase the potency of CBD and duration of benefit, without introducing side effects.

This project aims to develop an easy-to-use and cost-effective saliva test, fitted for COVID-19 diagnosis and
surveillance via multiplexed detection of SARS-CoV-2 viruses, COVID-19 specific antibodies immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G within 15 minutes.

Activation of the immune system is necessary for defense against pathogens and injury, but just as important are the processes to turn this inflammatory response once the infection or injury has been resolved. Inappropriate prolongation of immune cell activation results in inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and arthritis. The University of British Columbia (UBC) partners in this project have previously shown that activating the intrinsic braking system in cells, a protein called SHIP1, using small molecule compounds can reverse inflammation.

Monitoring hormone levels in saliva can be used to assess female reproductive health, which can yield many benefits to individuals. For example, those that have fertility issues can use hormone levels in saliva to improve their chances of conception, while the monitoring hormone levels over time could also be used to track and help treat disease. The project proposed here will yield a simple, and inexpensive tool that can be used at home (not in a clinic) to allow one to monitor hormone levels in saliva over time, e.g., daily.

Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC) are an emerging class of drugs that combine antibodies and a drug payload. The antibody cargoes the drug payload to specific targeted cells improving both safety and efficacy. To date that are 8 FDA approved ADC drugs all for oncology application using small molecule drugs. Although these ADCs with small molecules encompass superior efficacy and safety than non-targeted small molecule drugs, it is increasingly evident that they lose efficacy due to the same multi-drug resistance by the cancer cells.

Currently, burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas as a primary source of energy is a contributor to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change. Fuel cells are a promising environmentally friendly technology for sustainable clean energy, where the only byproduct is water. An important component of fuel cells for generating electricity is the ‘catalyst’, a material that allows for key chemical reactions to happen.

SeeO2 Energy has developed world-leading catalysts for reversible solid oxide fuel cell (RSOFC) systems with promising performance to produce syngas from H2O:CO2 feeds. The company has scaled-up the technology and has moved closer towards commercialization by building larger cells. However, assembling the RSOFC stack presents challenges due to issues associated with contact materials especially at the oxygen side of interconnects. The contact material connects the respective electrodes and interconnect and provides high electrical conduction paths between the interconnect and electrodes.

The rapid detection of high energy materials (i.e., explosives) and chemical, biological and radioactive (CBR) agents have received substantial attention because of its obvious importance to security and forensics. Applied Quantum Materials Inc. (AQM) is developing a straightforward luminescent quantum dot paper- and/or cloth-based detection system that shows instantaneous optical detection of nitro-based explosives in solution and solid phases at nanogram levels by monitoring the luminescence quenching after being exposed to explosive residues.