Nothing about us, without us: Indigenous data sovereignty

Dr. Moneca Sinclaire is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation bordering the Saskatchewan River in Northern Manitoba. Having recently completed a postdoctorate under Professor Stephane McLachlan in the department of Environment and Geography at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Dr. Sinclaire has been an integral member of the team responsible for Our Data Indigenous, a one-of-a-kind mobile app that collects important survey data that Indigenous communities can use to address health and wellness concerns. 

Robot generates images to prepare the soil for the future of agriculture

Researchers from the University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have taken on an ambitious challenge: build the ground for the next revolution in global farming and food production. With support from George Weston Limited and Mitacs, the team is filling a gap within the digital agriculture field by building a robotic system to create an open dataset of Canadian prairie crop plants and weeds.

Wellness for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

St.Amant, located in Manitoba, supports nearly 2,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism. In 2014, the St.Amant Foundation launched their Community Transitions program through which they offer community living options to people living at the residential care facilities administrated by St.Amant. While this transition enables them to live a full and active lifestyle in their communities, there was no study to actually assess what this means for their health and quality of life.

Manitoba collaboration results in innovation that stabilizes rural roads

Winnipeg-based Cypher Environmental is determined to put an end to the choking dust clouds on unpaved roads seen every day across rural and Northern Manitoba.

Though the problem may seem a minor visual blight, the impact is great: heavy trucks barreling down unpaved roads are at greater risk of rollover from the unstable ground; and nearby lakes and streams can suffer nutrient depletion, killing the natural wildlife.

How a taste for waste makes sustainable food

Led by Professor Filiz Koksel, the team, including Maria Arzamendi, a Mitacs Globalink intern from Mexico, is developing strategies to reduce food waste by using bakery by-products to create high-protein, fiber-rich snacks.

The researchers are combining leftover bread crumbs from a bakery with pulse flour, which is flour from legume crops, and using a novel technique to manipulate the food structure during processing. The local ingredients are resource efficient, environmentally friendly, and nutritional.

Manitoba researchers investigate link between diabetes and dementia

Supervised by Assistant Professor Eftekhar Eftekharpour, Jesua is part of a research team that is investigating a possible biological connection between diabetes and dementia. While recent population studies point to a correlation between diabetes and an increased risk of developing dementia, researchers don’t yet know the exact biological mechanisms that explain it. Jesua is spending his summer investigating one possible answer.

Long-range drone to deliver food and medicine to Canada’s North

In response, local researchers and companies have partnered to develop a new generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They hope to develop UAVs — commonly known as drones — that are robust enough to transport large cargo across vast distances without needing a pilot or GPS.

Beehive data creates buzz with farm-to-table technology

Determined to meet new standards for food traceability, head apiarist Allan Campbell sought a technology-based solution to improve record keeping and management of his entire beekeeping operation.

Allan turned to Bruce Hardy, CEO of Winnipeg software company Function Four, for his expertise in software-based records management.

Mitacs Globalink intern finds her niche at the University of Manitoba

“I had also been accepted to a program in Spain to do research,” she says, “but I chose Canada because it has some of the best universities in the world so I knew I’d get the best opportunity to learn because of Globalink!” She was impressed by the organization of the program and the hands-on approach that Mitacs takes to welcoming the students for their research terms every summer.

Increasing prostate cancer survival rates

Once prostate cancer is diagnosed, a series of biopsies has to be done to determine how serious the case is.  These can be invasive and painful for the patient and may not give an accurate prognosis.

In partnership with Mitacs-Accelerate intern Julius Adebayo Awe, CancerCare Manitoba has developed an innovative way to determine the progression of prostate cancer in intermediate risk prostate cancer patients through a simple blood test. This work is done in collaboration with the Manitoba Prostate Centre and Drs. Darrel Drachenberg and Jeff Saranchuk.

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