Projets novateurs réalisés

Evidence-informed Planning and Evaluation of Community Transitions: Impact on Health and Quality of Life

St.Amant is an organization that offers services to support individuals with developmental disabilities. Many of St.Amant’s services are shifting to provide the most inclusive, supportive, community-based services with the intention of enhancing health, access to healthcare, and quality of life of persons served and that of their families and caregivers. One of the current service changes is transitioning 75 individuals from River Road Place (RRP) to a variety of community-based residences.
In this study, we aim to track and share the progress made, so that this information can inform current social and health policy for all Manitobans living with an intellectual/developmental disability (IDD).
We will support the St.Amant’s service transitions by reviewing what evidence and best practices currently exist and ensuring this information is then shared with St.Amant staff, who are planning the changes. A process for evaluating community transitions will be established so that we can track ongoing progress.

Hydrological Simulation of the Churchill River Watershed using BiasCorrected Climate Model Data

The goal of the proposed research project is to use bias corrected climate model output to drive a

hydrological model of the Churchill River Basin in Labrador. This represents a major milestone in an

existing research collaboration between Memorial University and Nalcor Energy, the primary objective

of which is to determine the effects of climate change on the Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Project, to

be located on the Churchill River. Objectives of the current proposal include: learning how to use

Environment Canada’s GEM model; processing climate model output from the North American

Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP); collecting observed data from sites in

Labrador to help with the bias correction, and; using processed NARCCAP data to drive the

hydrological model within GEM. This internship will provide proof of concept using data from one

climate model that will allow expansion to all NARCCAP ensemble members in the future.

Ontario Primary and Mental Health Policy Decision Tool

The Ontario government provides healthcare funding to fourteen Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) across Ontario. LHINs in turn are responsible for structuring health care delivery and allocating funds to best meet the needs of the population in the region. However, there are limited tools available to help LHINs evaluate the system-wide implications of proposed policy changes. This research collaboration between KPMG and the University of Toronto will build on an existing system dynamics model of the Ontario Health Care System that evaluates the implications of policy changes across sectors. The current model includes the emergency department, acute care, home and community care, rehabilitation, complex continuing care, and long-term care sectors. TO BE CONT’D

A novel urban planning strategy to increase resilience of Canadian urban forests to global change – Year two

City trees and forests provide numerous ecosystem services (e.g. cleaner air, cooler environment, recreation) to human society but they are increasingly threatened by the changing climate, urban sprawl, invasive pests and diseases. This is particularly the case for Eastern Canadian cities that see the need to replace a large proportion of their trees killed by the Emerald ash borer (an invasive exotic insect). Current species choice is mostly based on aesthetics, economics and tradition. If we want to ensure a more resilient tree cover and a sustainable provision of ecosystem services in the future, we urgently need to revise our species selection strategy. TO BE CONT’D

A novel urban planning strategy to increase resilience of Canadian urban forests to global change

City trees and forests provide numerous ecosystem services (e.g. cleaner air, cooler environment, recreation) to human society but they are increasingly threatened by the changing climate, urban sprawl, invasive pests and diseases. This is particularly the case for Eastern Canadian cities that see the need to replace a large proportion of their trees killed by the Emerald ash borer (an invasive exotic insect). Current species choice is mostly based on aesthetics, economics and tradition. If we want to ensure a more resilient tree cover and a sustainable provision of ecosystem services in the future, we urgently need to revise our species selection strategy. TO BE CONT’D

Développement d’une procédure non intrusive basée sur la propagation des ondes élastiques pour l’évaluation de l’état des structures en béton enfouies du réseau de distribution d’Hydro-Québec – Year two

L’inspection de structures souterraines à l’aide de méthodes d’inspection ‘traditionnelles’ telles que des inspections visuelles, forages et excavations peut s’avérer coûteuse, inefficace ou impraticable due à des contraintes économiques, d’efficacités et de sécurités.
Le développement d’une méthode d’inspection basée sur l’étude de la propagation des ondes élastiques permettant d’évaluer l’intégrité structurelle de la dalle formant le toit des puits d’accès (PA) du réseau d’Hydro-Québec Distribution (HQD) serait donc bénéfique. Cette méthode d’inspection aura comme avantages d’être non intrusive, réalisable depuis la surface du sol/pavé en plus de permettre une évaluation globale de l’état de dégradation d’une structure souterraine. Les performances de la méthode d’inspection développée seront évaluées en réalisant l’inspection de nombreux PA qui seront par la suite excavés afin de déterminer la condition exacte de la surface du toit du PA. Ce projet de recherche devra donc mener à l’élaboration d’une nouvelle procédure d’inspection ainsi qu’à l’amélioration de la compréhension du phénomène de propagation des ondes élastiques.

Développement d’une procédure non intrusive basée sur la propagation des ondes élastiques pour l’évaluation de l’état des structures en béton enfouies du réseau de distribution d’Hydro-Québec

L’inspection de structures souterraines (Figure 1) à l’aide de méthodes d’inspection ‘traditionnelles’ telles que des inspections visuelles, forages et excavations peut s’avérer coûteuse, inefficace ou impraticable due à des contraintes économiques, d’efficacités et de sécurités. Le développement de nouvelles méthodes d’inspections répondant aux besoins de l’industrie est donc primordial afin de permettre aux propriétaires de structures souterraines de planifier les travaux de maintenances requis pour l’entretien des structures endommagées.
L’Institut de Recherche d’Hydro-Québec (IREQ), en partenariat avec l’Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS), vise à développer une méthode d’inspection innovatrice basée sur l’étude de la propagation des ondes élastiques permettant d’évaluer l’intégrité structurelle de la dalle formant le toit des puits d’accès (PA) du réseau d’Hydro-Québec Distribution (HQD). Cette méthode d’inspection aura comme avantages d’être non intrusive, réalisable depuis la surface du sol/pavé en plus de permettre une évaluation globale de l’état de dégradation d’une structure souterraine. TO BE CONT’D

Development of new classes of bio-relevant linkers for PROTACs and other conjugates using new technologies – Year two

Les PROTACs sont de nouvelles molécules thérapeutiques ayant pour but de soigner certaines maladies grave comme les cancers. Ces composés sont des molécules linéaires constitués de trois composants principaux : une extrémité permettant de repérer la cible, une autre extrémité permettant de causer la dégradation de cette cible, et enfin un linker reliant les deux. Cette dernière partie est la moins étudié, bien qu’il ait récemment été prouvé qu’elle joue grandement sur les propriétés de la molécule finale. Le but de ce projet est de développer une petite librairie de linkers avec différentes tailles et compositions afin d’en étudier l’effet et d’ultimement développer des traitements plus efficaces en utilisant de nouvelles technologies dans le domaine de la chimie de synthèse.

Development of new classes of bio-relevant linkers for PROTACs and other conjugates using new technologies

PROTACs are bifunctional molecules that allow the elimination of target proteins in the cells. Despite the advantages of this early field, the area of small molecules PROTACs presents some drawbacks, in particular, the long and tedious syntheses of the central linker. Secondly, the variety of those linkers is quite scarce, as poly-ether or alkyl chains are almost exclusively used. Thirdly, their length variation and effects on the activity of the PROTACs are rarely studied.
The goals of this project are to develop new synthetic routes allowing the easier synthesis of various linkers, develop new categories of linkers, and combine those advances to allow the rapid synthesis of a wide range of linkers that will constitute a toolbox for next generation bioconjugates, including but not limited to PROTACs . These goals will be achieved by the use of new technologies and chemical strategies. TO BE CONT’D

Understanding the regulation of specialized metabolite accumulation in hop plants (Humulus lupulus)

Hops (Humulus lupulus) flowers are most famous for imparting the bitter taste and aroma to beer. Hop flowers produce essential oils that contain many different plant compounds, which impart the characteristic taste and aroma of hop plants. However, how the production of these oils is regulated is not fully understood. The establishment of the craft beer industry, which is also rapidly expanding throughout North America and the world, is spurring renewed interest and investment in local hop agriculture. South-western British Columbia, particularly the Fraser Valley and Okanagan regions are excellent areas for hop agriculture. The research outlined in this proposal will support the identification of the genetic factors and environmental conditions that promote the production of high quality hop flowers.

Conception de cellules expérimentales de terrain visant à tester des scénarios de restauration à l’aide de recouvrement isolant pour les stériles miniers d’Amaruq

Les stériles miniers sont des roches qui sont excavées lors de l’exploitation d’une mine, mais qui n’ont pas de valeur économique. Ces stériles sont disposés en empilements appelés haldes à stériles. Selon leur composition, l’eau qui s’introduit dans la halde peut en ressortir contaminée et s’écouler vers le milieu environnant. Pour empêcher la formation et la propagation des eaux contaminées, la compagnie minière doit mettre en place une méthode de restauration. Le présent projet porte sur la conception d’une stratégie pour évaluer l’efficacité d’une méthode de restauration appliquée sur les haldes à stériles en région nordique. Cette stratégie inclue la conception d’halde à stériles à échelle réduite, instrumentée et construite sur le site. TO BE CONT’D

A novel therapeutic drug for selective treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer with MTAP deficiency

Chemotherapy is currently the most effective approach for treatment of advanced cancer. However, chemotherapeutics do not differentiate between malignant and normal cells, and lead to serious side effects. Recent findings indicate that a substantial proportion of cancers, as distinct from normal tissue, are deficient in an enzyme called methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP). This provides a unique opportunity for developing chemotherapeutics to treat MTAP-deficient malignancies and simultaneously protect normal tissue by co-administration of 5′-deoxy-5′-methylthioadenosine (MTA), an MTAP substrate present in normal tissues. In preliminary studies we have shown that this is feasible. Here we propose to evaluate this strategy using clinically relevant, patient-derived cancer xenograft models. This approach will benefit patients with MTAP-deficient malignancies. The project will serve as a bridge between academia and the pharmaceutical industry and be beneficial for the career development of the interns in charge and may lead to new, effective cancer treatments/patents also benefiting the partner organization.