Innovative Projects Realized

BSI – Human Resources Innovation & Process Improvement – Li Jean Phua

This project aims to tackle the challenge of finding different ways Viva could optimize its existing work processes to generate maximum results, as well as innovating in the human resources & operations domain. This requires the intern to observe technical insights such as user interaction and behavior, as well as traffic across various virtual platforms. This understanding would aid in the development of new strategies Viva could implement, and work towards improving current methods of employee and customer engagement as well.

High temperature energy storage device for buildings applications

Energy storage can help address the intermittency of renewable energies (such as solar and wind power). Different methods were developed to store energy for later uses. D’Arcy Mann, the founder of TESS Research Ltd., developed a method of high temperature thermal storage that would allow surplus power from renewables to be input year-round and given off as household heat in winter. With refinement, it could also be used as an air conditioning unit not as an either/or but as a reversible heat pump. It’s a relatively small, above-ground, modular design that is being scaled for single-family dwellings but chaining them together could be used to heat or cool larger spaces from office buildings to military barracks.
With the help of USASK researchers through this internship, TESS Research Ltd. will be able to move forward to commercializing this product. More specifically, a mathematical model is required to come up with a better design, to size and optimize the product for different climate conditions and applications. The model development and optimization require a detailed literature survey market analysis that USASK researchers could help with.

Research and development of an antimetastatic docetaxel-peptide conjugate (TH1902) against sortilinpositive cancers

The major aim of this research project is to accelerate the development of the SORT1+ oncology platform. This novel platform is based on a new proprietary peptide targeting Sortilin, a key scavenging receptor. Sortilin has been reported to play a role in cell survival and in the progression of human cancers. For instance, Sortilin expression has been associated with the aggressiveness of breast cancers and was observed in other highly metastatic types of cancers such as melanoma and lung cancers. Data that will be generated from this intern will further validate the antimetastatic properties of our docetaxel-peptide conjugate (TH1902) in metastatic cancer animal models and improve the value of SORT1+ technology. The achievement of milestones in this project will create significant value for the partner organization and validate SORT1+ technology as a platform. This will be a key and significant inflexing point for the value of the company that will facilitate the creation of new partnerships and the development of new research projects.

Développement, intégration et déploiement d’un écosystème de monitoring et d’aide aux soins de santé par fauteuils motorisés instrumentés pour des personnes en situation de handicap

Les soins et services aux personnes atteintes de handicap limitant leur mobilité revêt une importance toute particulière dans notre société. Le but de ce projet est de développer un écosystème permettant un suivi de l’état de santé au quotidien de ces personnes. Pour y arriver, un fauteuil mécanisé équipé d’actuateurs et de moteurs permettant la modification du positionnement de l’usager est mis à profit. En réalisant un programme capable de collecter des données relatives à l’état de santé de l’usager et en stockant celles-ci sur une base de données sécurisée, un professionnel sera en mesure de mieux diagnostiquer l’état du patient en plus de permettre la mise en place de mesure corrective en temps réel si cela est nécessaire. Le programme permettra également la réalisation d’exercices prescrits par un clinicien grâce à la série de composantes mécaniques en place sur le fauteuil.

Investigating sleep microarchitecture to better understand idiopathic hypersomnia pathophysiology and phenotype heterogeneity

We propose to characterize idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) sleep microarchitecture and identify clinically-relevant IH subtypes based on their microarchitecture through advanced EEG signal analyses . We will analyze 601 participants including 135 IH patients, 94 healthy controls, 223 subjects with narcolepsy and 149 patients with suspected IH but who don’t reach objective sleepiness criteria. Sleep microarchitecture variables will include slow-wave activity dissipation, slow wave morphological characteristics, sleep spindle characteristics and measures of sleep-stage stability (e.g. transitions and sleep bouts). We will determine how age, sex, body mass index, and depression impact sleep microarchitecture. We will use data-driven cluster analyses to identify subgroups of IH based on their sleep macro and microarchitecture. Finally, we will compare IH patients to other central hypersomnia disorders to understand its specific microarchitecture signature. By exploiting the richness of the polysomnographic signal, this project could improve our understanding of IH pathophysiology and reveal IH subtypes, which are necessary steps before developing more targeted interventions.

Price pattern detection via functional biclustering

The detection and the forecast of recurrent patterns is of utmost importance in financial time series. For example, it is useful to predict the explosion of price bubbles in advance in order to mitigate the consequences for the society. This project constitutes a further development of an existing research project on bubble detection via unsupervised learning methods (already financed by the SSHRC). Specifically, the proposed project aims to detect repetitive typical local patterns in asset price time series, such as oscillations or trends, that are crucial for portfolio managers, traders and retail investors in financial markets. We achieve this goal by adapting and applying to time series an innovative biclustering-inspired functional motif discovery algorithm which is able to capture repeated fragments in a noisy curve. In so doing, we expect to discover recurrent price anomalies and predict future price directions and unattended changes.

Analyse de protéines par résonance des plasmons de surface – projet COVID

La stagiaire développera des méthodes d’analyses de protéines liées à l’inflammation pour la détection de la réponse immunitaire suivant une infection à la COVID. Elle procédera à l’analyse d’échantillon, la production de rapports et possiblement à la rédaction d’article. Elle utilisera des techniques de résonance des plasmons de surface.

Development of a Decision Support System for FTTH Installations

In preparation for increasing its deployment of last-mile fibre, TELUS has engaged the University of Alberta to study the most efficient and cost-effective installation methods for Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployment where there are no existing telecommunications rights of way. The methods we will explore are divided into two categories: 1.) Direct Buried Methods (micro-trenching, Horizontal Directional Drilling, piercing and plowing. 2.) Utility Sharing (installing optical fibre via existing utility lines). Final recommendations and know-how will be reported in a Decision Support Guide transferred to TELUS. This important research will assist the telecommunications industry in Canada with scientifically backed knowledge and procedure for optical fibre installation projects

The multidimensional regulatory role of ACKR3 in the opioid network

Endogenous opioid peptides and prescription opioid drugs modulate pain, anxiety and stress by activating four classical opioid receptors (MOR, DOR, KOR and NOP). The laboratory of Immuno-Pharmacology and Interactomics has recently identified a new broad-spectrum opioid receptor: ACKR3/CXCR7, hitherto known as atypical scavenger receptor for chemokines. In contrast to classical opioid receptors, ACKR3 is a non-signalling receptor with unique scavenging functions for opioid peptides produced in the central nervous system, reducing their availability and signalling through the classical opioid receptors. The expansion of the opioid receptor family by a new non-signalling member with original regulatory functions adds an unforeseen dimension of fine-tuning to the opioid system but also opens promising alternative strategies for therapeutic intervention in opioid-related disorders, which is particularly timely in the context of the opioid crisis. However, it is now necessary to better understand the multidimensional regulatory roles that ACKR3 exerts on the opioid network.

Community Wealth Building in Ontario’s Mid-Sized Cities

As we begin to emerge from a global pandemic, communities around the world are looking for strategies to promote economic recovery. We know that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted equity-deserving groups and that recovery strategies must be sustainable and work to advance equity and inclusion. Locally, Ontario cities and towns have begun to bring together economic development and community-building strategies rooted in shared principles. Individually, these strategies serve as a promising alternative to the current model of economic development. Taken together, they offer a cohesive, intentional approach to Community Wealth Building (CWB) that benefits communities, while unlocking local investment, and spurring job growth with a particular focus on equity deserving groups. This research looks at how “Community Wealth Building in Ontario’s Mid-Sized Cities” has been applied and examines the benefits, challenges, and opportunities available for public servants, community members, and corporations to build equitable and sustainable communities while shifting systems for lasting impact.

Pluripartenariat et bien-être sexuel

Les dernières décennies ont vu d’importants changements dans les manières de faire couple ainsi que de vivre
les relations amoureuses et sexuelles. C’est dans ce contexte que de nouvelles formes de relations ont
progressivement gagné en visibilité notamment celles où l’exclusivité sexuelle et/ou amoureuse n’est plus de
mise ou tout du moins remise en question à l’instar du polyamour, du couple libre ou du libertinage. Mais à une
époque où le rêve d’une relation romantique et exclusive reste un idéal important, quelle est la place de ces
relations plurielles dans la société canadienne et qui sont les personnes qui les vivent ? Par le biais d’une
enquête statistique et d’entretiens, cette étude aura pour but de mettre en lumière les vécus des personnes
dans ce genre de relation, de mieux comprendre, d’un point de vue sociologique, comment se construisent ces
pluralités et de soulever les enjeux qui les entourent.

La vie musicale dans l’Autriche d’après-guerre (1945-1949)

Mes travaux de recherche portent sur la vie musicale en Autriche d’après-guerre (1945-1949) et se déclinent en deux volets. D’une part, j’étudie la culture de commémoration musicale, et plus spécifiquement, les festivités organisées pour commémorer certains compositeurs considérés comme « classiques » et « nationaux » de 1945 à 1949 (Beethoven, Bruckner, Schubert, Brahms et Johann Strauss II). J’analyse la structure de ces célébrations, qui résultent d’un partenariat étroit avec le pouvoir politique, et le discours entourant ces festivités, qui sert à mettre en scène la culture musicale d’une Autriche renouvelée et démocratique.

D’autre part, j’explore la diplomatie musicale européenne à travers l’analyse des tournées du Philharmonique de Vienne en France et au Royaume-Uni en 1947, premières apparitions de l’orchestre à l’étranger depuis la fin de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. J’étudie les efforts de diplomatie culturelle déployés pour soutenir la présentation d’une Autriche souveraine, pacifique et désormais « dénazifiée » au-delà des frontières.