Projets novateurs réalisés

Building efficiencies and expanding the reach of training curriculum for cell & gene therapies biomanufacturing

The Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute (CATTI), is filling the shortage of qualified, job-ready talent by developing and scaling e-learning and on-site GMP training programs for cell and gene therapies (CGT) production to rapidly upskill the biomanufacturing workforce in Canada and internationally. Using industry-focused best practices for competency based demonstration of acquired skills in operating under aseptic conditions, CATTI is ensures the CGT manufacturing talent is worksite ready. Currently, CATTI develops and deploys training at its host site at the University of Guelph: a dedicated CL2 training laboratory with adjacent 50 person classroom (over 2050 sq ft.). Here, curriculum is developed, tested, refined and deployed and is packaged for mobile training at other sites around the country. To accomplish CATTI’s goals, interns are needed to build the training cell banks that correspond to a wide variety of platform technologies for therapeutic production. Additionally, in the age of industry 4.0 and digitization, CATTI is automating laboratory management and inventory practices to reduce entry errors and gain efficiency in laboratory based operations. This submission for 4 internship projects spanning over 2 years will ensure continuity between CATTI’s current Mitacs BSI Intern and additional interns that will benefit form the dynamic team environment. Objective 1 will focus on the generation of training cell banks for several cell lines, each taking up to 7 months to generate; Objective 2 centres on the implementation of digital solutions for lab operations and training and will take place over a 6 month span. Intern 1 has already completed a round of eligible Mitacs BSI Intership; Intern 2 will be newly onboarded; Interns 3 and 4 (to be named) will be onboarded in January and April 2025, respectively. Each Intern will work very closely with the CATTI team and projects will be closely managed.

Identifying climate change resilient habitat using an integrative machine learning and coupled microclimate-biophysical modelling framework

Loss of biodiversity is occurring at unprecedented rates with an estimated 1 million species facing global extinction. Canada has the second largest area of intact natural landscapes and, therefore, a responsibility and opportunity to be a global leader in biodiversity conservation. Yet, Canada is facing a biodiversity crisis that particularly targets reptiles, one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates in the world and the most endangered in Canada. Continued reptile declines are the result of multiple stressors, including land use and climate change, which continue to accelerate. Ultimately, failure to address the biodiversity crisis will be costly as declines in ecosystem biodiversity negatively impact food production, human health, and water quality, posing direct and indirect socio-economic consequences. Our project will leverage an open-sourced habitat mapping database currently under development in collaboration with project partners to identify (1) reproductive and (2) overwintering habitats that will be resilient to climate change, thus providing critical refugia to species at risk. Specifically, our project will (O1) develop a regional-scale microclimate model based on land cover by leveraging a habitat mapping database and by up-scaling a site-specific soil depth model; (O2) develop a regional-scale biophysical model to identify climate-resilient upland habitat that provides critical habitat for reptile reproduction (i.e., nesting); and (O3) develop a regional-scale wetlands model to prioritize protection of critical reptile overwintering habitat. Biophysical models represent the cutting edge in modelling connections between physical and biological/ecological dynamics, and their use is integral to understanding habitat conditions under present and future climate conditions. The outcomes and tools generated in this research will facilitate effective habitat management, enhanced land use planning, collaborative stewardship among partners, and enable evidence-based decision making.

AI Enabled Very Small Aperture Terminal Modem

A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is a satellite communication technology that enables two-way data transmission between a ground station and a satellite. It is used for data, voice, and video communications, particularly in remote or underserved areas lacking adequate terrestrial infrastructure, ensuring reliable and secure communication for both personal and commercial needs.
Optimizing the satellite link in hubless full mesh VSAT technology is critical for achieving bandwidth efficiency, reducing latency, enhancing reliability, supporting scalability, and maintaining high Quality of Service. However, the resource constraints of hubless full mesh modems, due to the absence of a central network manager, pose significant challenges. Existing rule-based approaches limit the potential for smarter link management.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to enhance the development of new modems supporting this technology. AI can optimize the features such as bandwidth and power allocation, adaptive coding and modulation, enable predictive maintenance, manage traffic and QoS. These advancements can result in more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective satellite communication networks.
This project will conduct a comprehensive study on suitable AI models for integration into embedded systems. The project will involve identifying appropriate AI models, optimizing these models for embedded systems, and developing the accelerator architecture for them.

Federated Query Processing for AI-Copilots

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Évaluation des politiques de Santé Publique à Montréal (2014-2024) : Impact sur le Secteur Privé, la Société et les Disparités en Santé.

Le projet Évaluation des politiques de Santé Publique à Montréal (2014-2024) : Impact sur le Secteur Privé, la Société et les Disparités en Santé analyse les effets des politiques de santé publique sur Montréal, particulièrement leurs répercussions sur le secteur privé, la société et les inégalités en santé. Il explore comment ces politiques influencent les entreprises locales, qui s’adaptent aux nouvelles réglementations de santé, avec des implications pour la santé des employés. Le projet évalue également si ces politiques ont amélioré la qualité de vie, l’accès aux soins et la prévention des maladies chroniques pour l’ensemble des citoyens montréalais.

Un axe important du projet est l’étude des disparités en santé, notamment entre les groupes socio-économiques et les communautés vulnérables, comme les immigrants et les populations à faible revenu. Grâce à une approche comparative et des données précises, cette recherche offre aux décideurs des recommandations pour combler les inégalités et optimiser les futures politiques de santé. Elle vise également à enrichir la compréhension des meilleures pratiques en santé publique au Canada, tout en renforçant la résilience sociale et économique de Montréal dans la gestion des crises sanitaires.

Hypoxia tolerance of salmonids above and below culverts

The overall focus of this study is to assess the hypoxia tolerance of salmonids above and below culverts, which are human-made structures that allow water to flow under roads. However, poorly designed culverts can cause habitat fragmentation and negatively impact water temperature and oxygen levels. Gespe’gewa’gi Institute of Natural Understanding (GINU) is creating a robust, long-term dataset that monitors culverts for various biological and environmental parameters among rivers within the Restigouche watershed, providing an opportunity for a two-eyed-seeing approach that focuses on the physiological response of native fish to thermal and hypoxic stress. Our objective is to establish a baseline assessment of the hypoxia tolerance of salmonids across ten study sites located above and below culverts within the Restigouche Watershed. We will achieve this objective by measuring the hypoxia tolerance by conducting hypoxia challenge tests (HCT). These insights will elucidate the relative hypoxia tolerance among sites, influenced by physiological adaptations and plasticity in response to changing conditions. This research offers insight into fish’s resilience and adaptability to environmental change by investigating physiological and behavioural responses to hypoxic stressors.

Identifying and addressing gaps in services for traumatic brain injury survivors in the Interior Health Authority region of British Columbia

Survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) face challenges in obtaining integrated care that appropriately meets their needs. This is due, in part, to the nuanced and intersecting factors making TBI a complex clinical issue, but also to the siloed and uncoordinated service provision across public and community-based healthcare organizations. To address this challenge, the aim of this project is to use asset mapping to outline existing contact with, and coordination between, organizations serving TBI survivors in the area of British Columbia served by the Interior Health Authority (IH). In an effort to better understand the importance of context in the nature of the support services that are offered, we will draw from four sample areas / communities representing different characteristics of the IH region: i) urban; ii) regional/hub; iii) rural/remote; and iv) Indigenous community. By this means, we will identify opportunities to implement best practice recommendations and thereby optimize the continuum of care for TBI survivors.

Privacy-Preserving Human Activity Recognition for Healthcare using Large Vision-Language Models

This project will develop privacy-preserving human activity recognition algorithms for healthcare, especially senior care and remote patient monitoring. We will develop algorithms in three areas: 1) Video-based high-performance and fast pose estimation algorithms running in the sensor. 2) Advanced stick-figure-based action recognition methods that run in the cloud. 3) Stick-figure-based large vision and language model (VLM) methods in the cloud. The developed algorithms will be implemented into the industry partner’s product, which will benefit seniors and patients in Canada and around the world.

BSI- Coppella

The project aims to improve the sexual health and wellbeing of older women living in Fraser Health Authority’s (FHA) assisted living communities. With nearly 70% of residents being women aged 65 and older, there is a gap in addressing their sexual health needs, including preventing sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs). Current practices lack tracking of STBBI rates in these settings, and societal stigma often neglects older adults’ sexual health needs. This project, supported by Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) funding and in partnership with the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI), seeks to bridge these gaps through integrated knowledge translation. By collaborating with FHA leaders and researchers, the project aims to develop strategies and policies that not only support older women’s sexual health but also integrate these principles into assisted living community care practices. The ultimate goal is to enhance overall health outcomes and quality of life for older women in FHA’s assisted living residences.

Application of organic acids for improved soybean performance

Adverse growing conditions as a result of unpredictable changes in climate results in millions of dollars in crop and yield loss each year to Canadian farmers. Thus, the ability to improve crop performance under stress conditions is a major challenge. Improved plant performance, especially during the seedling stage of plant development, can be supported by the use of conventional NPK fertilizers that can have a negative impact on surrounding agricultural ecology if not applied properly. The proposed MITACS Accelerate project will support research and bridge relations between industry and scientists at the University of Manitoba to investigate the effect of organic acids on improved plant performance from the earliest stages of seedling establishment. We will be studying the mode of action of MX3, an all natural organic acid seed treatment, globally using a combination of large scale microbiome and RNA sequencing coupled with comprehensive bioinformatics approaches and agronomic studies. The impact of this work has broad application to crops grown in Canada and will lead to a deeper understanding of molecular events critical for plant establishment and performance.

My Heart Coach – a nested pre-/post-, multi-methods study

Patients with cardiovascular disease benefit from participating in cardiac rehabilitation which have been traditionally offered in-person. Patients find these to be challenging to attend and may not complete the
programs if they enroll. Providing cardiac rehabilitation as an online program is a promising solution. My Heart Coach is an online web-based multimedia program for cardiac rehabilitation. Against the context of a feasibility study, a nested study will be done to look for: (1) measures that can predict program usage of 12 weeks and (2) barriers and facilitators that may impact program usage. This multimethods study will use a combination of surveys, clinical data, and patient interviews to obtain data for analysis.

Testing the efficacy of seaweed extracts to enhance plant performance for mine reclamation

As the world attempts to transition into a low-carbon economy, the mining sector is becoming increasingly important in meeting the promises of the Paris Climate Agreement. Despite their importance in providing critical minerals, mining activity severely impacts the environment, particularly the soil ecosystem. Therefore, large-scale rehabilitation efforts that are resilient to climate change are undertaken. Seaweed extracts (SWE) have emerged as a strong contender for their low carbon footprint, carbon capture capabilities, and multimodal action that enhances plant and soil function. A large body of research demonstrates SWE’s effectiveness in improving plant and soil health. However, their application in mine reclamation remains paltry. Our project seeks to remedy this shortcoming by employing a two-phase experiment that examines the effectiveness of the SWE on plant survival and growth. We have partnered with Ocean Regenerative Aquaculture to investigate the efficacy of their SWE on plant performance in the reclamation domain.