Innovative Projects Realized

Bullying Purposely Left Out?: Canada’s amended Labour Code and its potential impact on Indigenous workers

Workplace discrimination is common for Indigenous people (1,2). Unacceptable behaviours may take place at work, such as threats, intimidation, or violence (2). The workplace is a location where behaviour labeled as ‘bullying’ occurs (1,3). When examining Indigenous workers, the impacts of behaviour defined as bullying (and the mere act of defining the behaviour as bullying rather than racism, violence or harassment) may be exacerbated given the unique history of Indigenous people. My proposed research on bullying behaviours experienced at work by the Indigenous population has been largely overlooked by existing research on bullying at work and on the legislative and legal response to it. This study is timely in Canada and will contribute significantly to the literature on workplace bullying, violence, racism and harassment. Monique Gignac and the Institute for Work and Health (IWH) will partner on this project. Mutual benefits will be generated as the IWH currently doesn’t have a strong Indigenous research program but can provide strong psychosocial theoretical approaches to workplace health and safety. The connections with Indigenous workers through this project will add to the understanding of how Indigenous people identify their workplace climate and culture as it relates to ‘bullying’ behaviours, racism, violence and harassment.

Development of a multiplexed mass spectrometry assay for the detection and quantification of organ toxicity biomarkers during preclinical drug safety assessments

In recent years, the interest given to disease biomarkers has boomed. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are exploring ways to use biomarkers to speed up the drug development process, as well as to rapidly assess a diseases state, staging, progression and response to therapy. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) Mass Spectrometry (MS) has been shown to be well suited for the selective and sensitive quantification of proteins in plasma and has recently emerged as the technology of choice for disease biomarker study. The focus of this research project is to develop a highly multiplexed MRM assay to quantitatively measure changes in organ-specific toxicity biomarkers and test their predictive value following drug-induced organ injury in rats. More specifically, this assay will be used to detect and quantify protein biomarkers associated with various organ toxicities such as hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, cardiotoxicity as well as muscle, vascular and neurotoxicity in the rat urine and plasma.

In Vitro Fundamental Dispersion Studies of Allergens and COVID-19 Sized Particles

Red Maple Trials (Ottawa, ON) created a facility for the research of allergy, in which patients can be exposed (challenged) to airborne allergens and symptoms can be monitored in a controlled manner. The primary clientele of Red Maple Trials are pharmaceutical companies testing allergy medications. Two testing rooms (small for 1-3 subjects, and large for up to 10 subjects) are dedicated for cat allergen exposures and a third (the largest room, which is able to accommodate up to 75 subjects) is reserved for dust-mite or pollen exposures.
The main objectives of this two-year project are: 1) improve the allergen dispersion system in the larger cat allergen testing room to allow homogeneous spatial distribution, temporal stability (over three hours), and repeatability. 2) Expand and improve aerosolization in the largest testing room to include dust-mite allergen dispersion. 3) Explore the possibility of using the unique facilities to study indoor-spread of COVID-19 using aerodynamically similar surrogate particles. 4) In addition to experimental measurements (particle size, velocity, concentration, and deposition), numerical simulations using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) techniques will be developed and validated. The results will elucidate how characteristics of irregular particles (e.g. shape, adhesion, and roughness) effect their aerosolization and distribution.

Enhancing the development and sustainability of Greenland halibut fisheries in a rapidly changing Arctic – Year two

Fisheries are a fundamental contributor to socio-economic growth in northern Canadian communities and are a management priority considering limited alternative economic opportunities available in the region. The proposed research aligns with core research needs of industry/resource managers to meet three objectives: 1. examine movement dynamics, habitat-use, and bycatch hotspots to aid development of community-based Greenland halibut fisheries in Pond Inlet, 2: measure emigration and mortality rates of Greenland halibut from Cumberland Sound to evaluate connectivity with offshore commercial fisheries to support ongoing stock assessment, 3) provide a robust evaluation of the current region proposed as the principle spawning ground through examining movement dynamics and connectivity of Greenland halibut in the northern Davis strait. We will use acoustic telemetry and a combination of existing (>1400 tagged fish, >140 acoustic receiver stations) and newly collected data to meet these objectives. This work will aid the development of community-based fisheries by providing priority information for sustainable growth and accurate stock assessment and to promote equitable quotas. Equally, through characterizing inshore-offshore connectivity and evaluating and quantifying the use and periodicity of spawning grounds, this work will provide improved knowledge to manage the overall inshore-offshore Greenland halibut stock.

Enhancing the development and sustainability of Greenland halibut fisheries in a rapidly changing Arctic.

Fisheries are a fundamental contributor to socio-economic growth in northern Canadian communities and are a management priority considering limited alternative economic opportunities available in the region. The proposed research aligns with core research needs of industry/resource managers to meet three objectives: 1. examine movement dynamics, habitat-use, and bycatch hotspots to aid development of community-based Greenland halibut fisheries in Pond Inlet, 2: measure emigration and mortality rates of Greenland halibut from Cumberland Sound to evaluate connectivity with offshore commercial fisheries to support ongoing stock assessment, 3) provide a robust evaluation of the current region proposed as the principle spawning ground through examining movement dynamics and connectivity of Greenland halibut in the northern Davis strait. We will use acoustic telemetry and a combination of existing (>1400 tagged fish, >140 acoustic receiver stations) and newly collected data to meet these objectives. This work will aid the development of community-based fisheries by providing priority information for sustainable growth and accurate stock assessment and to promote equitable quotas. Equally, through characterizing inshore-offshore connectivity and evaluating and quantifying the use and periodicity of spawning grounds, this work will provide improved knowledge to manage the overall inshore-offshore Greenland halibut stock.

Enabling community well-being monitoring inlight of probable mine development: NaskapiNation of Kawawachikamach (Quebec

The Naskapi Nation is a small, isolated Aboriginal community located in northern Quebec. Accessible only by air and rail, the community has been affected by significant mineral development to date. Do to the rich mineral area surrounding the community extractive companies have implemented plans for further development. This has raised local concerns
regarding the range of environmental and socio-economic impacts that may be caused by development. Given the scale of proposed mining activity in this region, there is a need to develop a process to track community well-being over time, using community personnel and indicators that are meaningful to community members. Beyond offering an accurate picture of community change in light of mineral development, such time series evidence also provides a basis for community leadership to revisit past decisions and make corrective action if need be. The first step in such a process is to establish a baseline of well-being

A constitutive model for the cyclic degradation of clays

The proposed research project will provide SRK a reliable tool to estimate the level of displacements developing in a clayey deposit when subjected to cyclic loading of variable amplitudes, such as earthquake loading conditions. Specifically, this tool is represented by a model which can be used during seismic analysis of geotechnical structures. The model will be developed based on an already existing model which has proved capabilities of capturing many relevant aspects of the clay response under cyclic loading (Seidalinov and Taiebat 2014). However, a preliminary study by the intern demonstrated that the current version of the model has deficiencies in representing the strain accumulation response under various magnitudes of shaking. The observed limitations will be addressed in this project by revising the formulation of the constitutive model. The revised and enhanced model will be validated against a database of element level cyclic shearing of clays.

Jim Green Centre for Innovation and Inclusion

This MITACS internship will determine the economic feasibility of the repurposing of 312/324
Main Street into a Centre for Social Innovation and Inclusion (CSII) in Vancouver. CSII is
modeled on the successful Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto. CSII aims to create
cooperative networks among different social groups, cultivating an environment of reciprocity.
CSII envisages the conversion of the former Vancouver Police Station at 312/324 Main Street
for these purposes. The 60,000 square feet of leasable space would be rented out to a range
of tenants similar to the Toronto model. In addition, the sponsors of the project – Vancouver
City Savings Credit Union and Simon Fraser University will occupy some of the space with
their related staff. Some of the space will be subsidized for local artists/artisans and NGO’s
while other space will be of a relatively high return in the private sector.

Low-Cost UAV imagery systems for Precision Agriculture

The proposed project aims to develop the use of Low-Cost UAV imagery systems for precision agriculture applications with focus on weed and irrigation management applications. Generally, Precision Agriculture is a management system that aims to compile different technologies to control the use of the agriculture process inputs such as chemical herbicides, seeds, water, etc., to enhance the quality and quantity of its output, while preserving the surrounding environment from any harm that might be caused due to the use of these inputs. Recently, during the last decade, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) platforms showed great potential to enhance the use of remote sensing and imagery sensors for different PA applications as weed and irrigation management. Therefore, the proposed project aims to help the agriculture industry through providing the users with the ability to generate a map for the agriculture field which show the weed patches in the agriculture field along with the water needs of every spot in the field using low-cost UAV imagery system. The partner organization (Cansel) will work with the inter to generate a processing tool that can be provided to its customers to enhance their work especially for irrigation management.

Marketing and Promotion Internship – Business Consultant at FutureCite Inc.

FutureCite is working on the launch of a Beta software platform that levers its existing platform to help the industry sector recover from the impact of the digital transformation in the post-COVID economy, with a focus on the future on the NEXTGEN demographic. This project aims to build a marketing, advertising, and promotional strategy for its new Beta platform. This includes the development of a marketing plan, a and communications plan, and participating in the buildup and rollout of the promotional launch (which will include onboarding participants from industry to communities and individuals in the Edmonton Metro Region). It also includes working on grant applications for a major event related to the promotional launch.

Marketing Strategy: Saskatoon Zoo Society

The Saskatoon Zoo Society is vital to the Saskatchewan community because the Forestry Farm Park and Zoo is the only accredited zoo in the province. The small team at the Society are critical to the educational development of our students. The programs delivered by the Society contribute to curriculum outcomes planned by teachers that enhance our student’s education.

In 2019, the Society reached 22,522 participants in their 550+ programs delivered. The Society is currently understaffed, and they do not have the time to create new strategies for marketing and implement them effectively. The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot more work for the society as they are working hard to create online programming to reach students in the fall when school begins. If their small team is unsuccessful in creating the online programming in time, thousands of students, parents, and educators in Saskatoon will be severely affected as they rely on the Society’s programming each year.

My work as a Mitacs intern will allow time to be freed from the managers so they can focus on what they are good at—delivering programs to students. They need an intern’s help to build the online programming and implementing strategy to best deliver the programs. The Society needs to reach the community online through social media channels, website platforms, video conferencing, and email marketing to communicate the change to online programming effectively.

Marketing Business Analytics

Zoocasa has established itself as a thought-leader in the real estate industry by providing insights on market trends and search data/tools for Canadian consumers who are buying or selling real estate.

This project will support the company’s focus on using data as a tool for decision making. This project will use technical solutions, such as machine learning, to mine insights from large quantities of market data to identify market insights that can be translated into valuable business use. Examples of how these insights will be utilized by the company include: to better understand trends in the market place, assist in making business decisions, develop public-facing market reports and assist with product development when building data-driven tools for users who are making home buying or selling decisions.