New app provides volunteer ‘matchmaking’ for people with disabilities

People with disabilities in Quebec will soon have a way to get out and enjoy outdoor activities safely, thanks to a first-of-its-kind online platform — currently under development at Université Laval-based Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (Cirris) — that will match them with support volunteers in their community. 

Quebec innovator’s start-up will help get vaccines to market faster

While Juliette Champeil pursues her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Laval University, she also serves as co-founder and CEO of her bioengineering start-up, Ivano Bioscience. The company is advancing Champeil’s breakthrough innovation: ready-to-use lab test kits that come pre-loaded with bioengineered artificial cells and viruses designed to mimic real life. The test kits speed up the process for testing new vaccines, helping them get to market faster. 

Speedy solution 

Strawberry fields will be forever thanks to summer intern from Mexico

Dagoberto Torres García, a biotechnology student at Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico, is spending the summer in Quebec putting his knowledge and expertise in DNA extraction and PCR testing to help identify which insects are carrying a bacterium responsible for spreading a new, harmful disease affecting strawberry fields in Quebec, in Canada, and around the world.

Pets have reason to smile thanks to start-up innovation

Gum disease is a condition that shows up in 85 percent of cats and dogs before the age of four. Without proper treatment, the illness is painful and can lead to other health issues such as heart or kidney disease.

To improve the health of pets and prevent the issue, Quebec entrepreneur Andrée-Ann Adam has been working on a first-of-its-kind, all-natural dental gel.

Québec__Université Laval

No additional funding contribution is required from the academic supervisor or university.
Fellowships will be awarded competitively.

Speeding towards the 5G highway

According to the US Federal Communication Commission, 5G “is a virtual cornerstone for critical 21st century opportunities related to economic growth, education, employment, transportation, and more. These new networks and technologies will enable…innovations not yet imagined.”

With the explosion in consumer and industrial demand for faster and high-capacity mobile networks, the 5G download speed of up to 100 times faster than current 4G technology will enable Canadian businesses to deliver a new generation of products and services and compete robustly in the global marketplace.

The History of the Quebec Common Gaol

This is a project to update the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec's permanent exhibit, Doing Time: The Quebec City Common Gaol (1808 – 1867). Since the exhibit was launched in 2011, much research has been done on the history of the gaol.  Doing Time is seen by some 25,000 visitors per year. For some, it is their only exposure to the history of prison life. The exhibit needs to be as accurate as possible. Revision will be done by an intern working under the supervision of Donald Fyson, professor of history at Université Laval and specialist in the gaol's history.

Development of a new compact configuration for enzyme-mediated carbon dioxide desorption unit based on detailed study of desorption kinetic mechanism and local-scale mass-transfer phenomena

The CO2 thermal desorption process in the stripper for the regeneration of solvents is central to the design of CO2 capture process from technical and operational standpoints, requiring huge amounts of energy and posing considerable challenges on plant operation.

Anaerobic co-digestion of organic and cellulosic wastes for increased biogas production

The goal of this research project is to study and develop optimal strategies for operating anaerobic co-digestion processes involving organic waste with cellulosic substrate derived from paper wastes. The effects of enzymatic treatment to boost degradation of the paper wastes in anaerobic conditions will also be evaluated. Furthermore, best approaches for transitioning feedstock compositions, such as from lower to higher paper content and vice versa, will be investigated.

Counteracting colony collapse; research team seeks to solve honeybee mystery

French Biological Engineering Master’s student, Marie Marbaix is spending her summer contributing to the global investigation into colony collapse disorder. For 12 weeks, she’s joined Professor Levon Abrahamyan at the Université de Montréal to study the co-infection of mites and viruses in honeybees through a Mitacs Globalink research internship. The researchers want to know if co-infection — being afflicted with more than one parasite or virus at once — could be contributing to honeybee deaths, and ultimately, colony collapse.

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