The proposed Mitacs fellowship will provide a research opportunity for three post-doctoral fellows (PDFs) in a competitive R&D environment at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) – Canada’s newest health research institute. The research project is aimed towards the development and commercialization of the advanced radiation medical imaging detectors which will ultimately benefit healthcare in Canada and worldwide.

Imaging of cerebral perfusion (the delivery of blood to a capillary bed in the brain tissue) is significant for diagnosing a variety of diseases. There are multiple challenges associated with perfusion imaging which significantly limits the quality of cerebral perfusion images. I am planning to develop a novel approach of cerebral perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using hyperpolarized (HP) xenon-129 (129Xe). To conduct HP 129Xe perfusion imaging, I am developing a novel HP MRI Time-of-Flight (TOF) pulse sequence.

Imaging of cerebral perfusion (the delivery of blood to a capillary bed in the brain tissue) is significant for diagnosing a variety of diseases. There are multiple challenges associated with perfusion imaging which significantly limits the quality of cerebral perfusion images. I am planning to develop a novel approach of cerebral perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using hyperpolarized (HP) xenon-129 (129Xe). To conduct HP 129Xe perfusion imaging, I am developing a novel HP MRI Time-of-Flight (TOF) pulse sequence.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are responsible for almost all cervical cancers. Current treatment available relies on chemo- or radiation-therapy or surgery. These methods have several side-effects with high morbidity and survival of just ~ 70%. Our lab, therefore, develops a more patient-centered approach based on targeting the viral E6 protein, the main culprit of carcinogenesis in HPV-related malignancies.

While cloud-based medical analytics is important for facilitating efficient, patient-centric smart healthcare services, the reliability of the cloud is often under question because of many cloud failures and outages. In this project, how to reliably assign the resources and tasks to the cloud through virtual machine and medical service migration will be investigated, modeled, and evaluated through simulations and experiments. This will provide practical and adaptable solutions for health caregivers.

The excessive daily requirement for COVID-19 tests has put the healthcare providers in an overwhelming circumstance, especially in rural communities, with a limited number of resources. Moreover, the existing COVID-19 screening technique is time-consuming and expensive, which can be a luxury for many communities. Thus, in this research project, in collaboration with the TBRHRI, we press the necessity of an automated AI-aided solution for efficient and faster COVID-19 diagnostic.

Specific strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) can develop into cervical cancer. Screening for these types of HPV has been shown as a better early test for cervical cancer. Samples for HPV testing can also be collected by women without going into a clinic. This selftesting method may be a good cervical screening option for women who might not participate otherwise. Certain cultural groups, such as First Nations women, are less likely to participate in cervical screening than the general population. As a result, First Nations women have more diagnoses and deaths from cervical cancer.