The proposed project combines structural biochemistry with high-performance molecular simulations to generate valuable insight into the development of the next generation of ligands that can be used to develop vaccines. The collaboration between the academic and industry partner creates an ideal opportunity to combine theoretical and experimental approaches for better lead generation and development of scientific knowledge. Zymeworks will have an opportunity to validate its ZymeCAD™ platform for pharmaceutical applications.

Recently completed research has demonstrated concerns related to the control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young people in Northeastern BC’s ‘booming’ oil/gas communities. The Northern Health Authority (NHA) and OPTions for Sexual Health (OPT) are new partners in the provision of sexual health services in Northeastern communities. A recent syphilis outbreak has provided the impetus for the NHA and OPT to consider how to develop an awareness campaign to promote STI testing and prevention among young people.

Non-invasive imaging techniques using near-infrared (NIR) light yield extensive information on cells and tissues and can reconstruct images of the deep interior of biological tissues. The place occupied by NIR imaging within the multidisciplinary field of molecular imaging has been growing in recent years. This is, in pat, because of its intrinsic advantages (such as its low cost and non-invasiveness) when compared to other imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT).

The overall project goal is to develop a model of the Home and Community Care System that can aid in predicting future loads on the system and explore how policy changes might impact it.

The internship project will work to deliver a weight loss protein that will combat obesity. The intern will coat DNA for the protein with a natural substance that can be delivered orally or through surgery. If successful, the team expects to see the presence of this weight loss protein in the blood of the specimens. Moreover, the levels should increase after meals and this should encourage less eating and weight loss. enGene, a biotech company specializing in DNA delivery to the gut, will provide the training necessary for this project.

A system for the detection of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a disease where blood clots form in the legs, has been developed by the student and his supervisors at UBC. The current project is aimed at determining an approach using pre-screening criteria to evaluate the system in a clinical setting without having to examine hundreds of patients to obtain reliable results, as a consequence of the low incidence of the disease.

Identifying early onset of cardiac diseases is not easy and can be very expensive. For this reason, the first symptom of cardiac problems is often catastrophic for patients. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce a low-cost screening device that effectively identifies the presence of the disease early, allowing patients to take corrective action in terms of lifestyle, diet and stress management in order to eliminate the need for surgical intervention and/or drug therapy.

The intern will be conducting experiments to gather real-time data on the formation of toxic fibrous proteins that occur as part of the disease process in type 2 diabetes. These experiments will be carried out at BC Children’s Hospital in vitro for various concentrations of protein precursor to study the kinetics of assembly of the polymer with and without “seeding” of the reaction with preformed fibrils. This data will then be analyzed using mathematical modeling techniques to discover the key steps in the formation and growth of the toxic fibers.

Traumatic injuries place a tremendous burden on families, communities, industry, and the health care system. Moreover, the risk of severe injury, especially amongst the young and elderly, disproportionately affects those who are disadvantaged. Investigating the linkage between the environment and injury is complex as the interrelationship between location, socioeconomic status, age, and family demographics is often greater than the sum of their parts. The internship team will propose a geographic information science (GIS) based approach for trauma research.

This research project aims to develop automated statistical methodology to analyze data generated by flow cytometry (FCM), a high-throughput technology widely used in health research and disease diagnostics. FCM is commonly used to define the overall status of the immune system either in healthy or diseased subjects by performing quantitative measurements on a variety of cell types belonging to the immune system.