Projets novateurs réalisés

Factors and Mechanisms that Impact Cognitive Health in Aging

The larger study project aims to assess and enhance the impact of virtual health interventions on older adults with IDD, their family caregivers, and service providers. The first phase of the research project will explore and investigate current challenges older adults with IDD experience within academic and grey literature, and data collected from previous virtual education programs for providers, families, and older adults. By addressing this goal, the project seeks to bridge existing gaps in healthcare services, offering tailored virtual interventions that are catered and improve the overall quality of life for older adults with IDD. The significance of this research lies in its potential to inform the development of more effective and holistic approaches to support the unique needs of older adults living with IDD.

Understanding the biodiversity ecosystem function relationships of herbivorous reef fish at the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology

Hawaiian coral reefs are extremely diverse and host a suite of endemic species. This diversity is a key aspect of their resilience. Fishing is an important aspect of Hawaiian culture, providing food and livelihoods for local people. Most of the fishing within Hawai’i is non-commercial and occurs in the near-shore, where herbivores make up 21% of the total catch. Compared to historic levels, herbivore stocks in Hawai?i are depleted, especially on the most populated islands, making them vulnerable to algal overgrowth.

Herbivore management areas, where regulations are placed on the harvest of herbivorous fish, have been identified as a key tool to increase coral reef resilience within Hawai’i. Despite this, there has been little practical guidance on application and it remains unclear how much and which types of herbivory are needed to ensure desirable levels of algae. Protecting herbivore abundance and diversity may help maintain ecological function and improve resilience of coral reefs, but to act most effectively, we need to understand herbivorous fishes’ diets and whether herbivores work together, by targeting different types of algae, to prevent overgrowth.

Understanding drivers of fish stock recruitment to improve fisheries management

The objective of this project is to shed new light on the regulation of fish stock dynamics by revealing the drivers of growth and survival during early life. Otoliths, which consist of small concretions found in the inner ear of fish, will be used to estimate daily growth history, considered a key indicator of survival potential in fish larvae. This project, conducted at the University of Tokyo on three abundant Japanese clupeiform species (anchovy, sardine and round herring) used as models, will allow us to identify potential drivers of early life survival of clupeiform species worldwide, including key Atlantic herring stocks in Canada. These stocks include the one occurring in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is now facing a concerning decline and requires an improved management strategy. Overall, this project will allow us to determine to what extent the growth-survival relationship and the recruitment potential vary in space and time, which will facilitate the development of improved management strategies for Atlantic herring and other important fishery resources in Canada.

Mise en valeur à des fins récréotouristiques au Site de la Nouvelle-France

De 1996 à2019,|e site de la Nouvelle-France s’est imposé comme un site touristique d’importance au Saguenay. En 2022, grâce à d’importantes subventions, la Société touristique de l’Anse-à-la-Croix qui gère le site a entrepris une refonte complète de I’offre touristique avec I’achat et la construction de nouveaux bâtiments afin de combler
un vide en matière d’offre touristique au Saguenay. À l’intérieur de cette refonte se trouve la volonté de mettre en valeur la discipline de l’archéologie et des données qui ont été colligées sur l’occupation ancienne des lieux depuis la paléohistoire jusqu’à l’histoire récente. Au-delà de ce qui a été découvert sur les lieux, l’une des missions du
lieu touristique vise également à documenter la période où les colons européens ont commencé à fréquenter les berges du Saint-Laurent.

Blue Dot Application

The main objective of this research project is to contribute to developing a model that can provide robust early warning to changes in influenza cases and help to reduce ILI spread globally. The model, Modified Exponential Growth Algorithm (MEGA), will characterize the early ascending phase of epidemic disease and will be used to detect changes in calculated exponential growth parameters that occur over a complete time series of influenza case data. What makes this model unique is that it will detect not only the start and peak of ILI activity, but also when its season ends. Understanding and identifying when it is ILI season is especially important with recent departures of seasonal influenza trends post-Covid-19 pandemic.

An intern who brings skills and knowledge in public health and epidemiology is needed to support the technology team members who don’t have that specific expertise. Because BlueDot is a social enterprise and limited in resources, we need to better optimize our budget while we are commercializing new technology. Hence, support from Mitacs would accelerate this project. This is an opportunity for a student to apply their knowledge in a real world and technology-driven setting.

Social determinants of health and use of diabetes technologies among adults with type 1 diabetes in Quebec

The intern will evaluate disparities in the use of diabetes technologies among individuals from historically marginalized communities in Canada, explore barriers and facilitators to use of diabetes technologies, and identify novel strategies to improve equitable use. The intern will determine associations between marginalization and the use of insulin pumps and CGM, as well as interactions between marginalization and the use of insulin pumps or CGM on Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and diabetes-related hospitalizations.

The Prosserman Centre for Population Health Research (PCPHR) will benefit from the research as it will offer a nuanced understanding of disparities in technology use among historically marginalized communities in Ontario and Quebec, providing valuable insights into barriers and facilitators influencing adoption. This information will enable PCPHR to design targeted interventions, addressing challenges faced by these populations. The research contributes to PCPHR’s data resources for population health studies, aligning with its mission to reduce disease burden and improve overall health. Ultimately, the collaboration positions PCPHR to actively contribute to reducing health inequalities.
Additionally, this research may strengthen PCPHR’s position as a leader in epidemiology, biostatistics, and health research overall. The study provides unique contribution to the field, fostering collaboration with funding agencies and other research institutions.

Comparative Analysis of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Wastewater: A Transcontinental Wastewater-based Epidemiology Study Between Canadian and Japanese Communities

It is estimated that more than 1 million cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired globally each day and significantly impact sexual and reproductive health. Existing STI outbreak surveillance methods rely largely on clinical reporting which can underestimate the scale of community outbreaks, primarily due to asymptomatic cases and patient test avoidance resulting from either negative social stigma or lack of access to testing. This study will employ a wastewater-based epidemiological (WBE) approach using qRT-PCR to detect and quantify 3-4 common STIs in wastewater collected from Canadian and Japanese communities. Once quantified, microbial titres present in the wastewater can be correlated with clinical cases, lending a new insight into community infection rates. Additionally, antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health concern, particularly surrounding Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections. Therefore, samples with positive detection will be further analyzed using Next Generation Sequencing to determine variant composition and resistance rates. A transcontinental comparative analysis will aid in understanding STI spread and resistance, while the WBE approach is crucial for rapid monitoring and outbreak intervention.

Transport phenomena inside and across membrane inpolymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has emerged as an eminent technology to address today’s growing energy crisis and environmental issues. PEMFC technology faces multiple challenges before widespread commercialization. Water transport inside a PEMFC has a significant impact on the cell performance and durability. In this internship a numerical model is implemented to study the transport phenomena inside and across the membrane of a PEMFC. The numerical model will be used to investigate the effects of cell operating temperature and current on water distribution on both cathode and anode sides, as well as inside the membrane. The present internship will expand the modelling capabilities of FC-APPOLO, an in-house open-source application package for simulation of performance and durability of PEMFC developed by Ballard power systems

Low-temperature spectroscopy and quantum memory in molecular lanthanide crystals

Applications of quantum communication and computers range from cybersecurity to vastly increased computational capability. In most realizations of these, Quantum Memory (QM) is a key component. A promising platform for QM is Rare-Earth-Ion doped materials (characterized by their unique long-lived and well-isolated electronic states), with crystals made of molecular complexes being a recent appealing sub-category. The group at the PSL university have performed comprehensive spectroscopic analyses and implemented QM in a europium molecular complex. During this project we will characterize new molecular hosts containing Eu using low-temperature spectroscopic techniques mastered by the host team. These include photon echoes and spectral hole burning in crystallites at temperature from 40 mK to 20 K, with the goal of understanding the mechanisms limiting the optical coherence. Since the host group are leaders in research on this novel platform, which is aligned with my PhD project on molecular complexes, I anticipate gaining a deeper understanding of the theoretical and experimental background, gaining techniques that I can later apply to my own project. The project will allow strengthening the collaboration and foster future work based on synergies between the involved Canadian and French institutions.

Using Multi-Material 3D Printing to Strengthen Biocomposites with Superhydrophobic Plating

This project will focus on reinforcing biocomposite materials with a superhydrophobic plating to help improve the mechanical properties and industrial feasibility. Biocomposites are currently being widely researched because of their numerous advantages over materials traditionally used in manufacturing such as being easily recyclable, being made from materials which are found abundantly in nature, and having low environmental impact. Although there are advantages to using these materials over the more traditional ones, there are still a number of issues that need to be addressed before they can be widely used, with one of the largest ones being their tendency for moisture uptake due to the hydrophilic nature of biomaterials and additives. Absorbing moisture causes biocomposites to deform and loose mechanical strength, meaning this problem is important to address for biocomposites to be integrated into industry. This project looks to use an innovative multimaterial 3D printing approach to add a superhydrophobic layer directly onto the biocomposite surface to decrease moisture uptake and improve mehchanical properties. This project will help bolster both institutions involved by resulting in research that is novel and can be published in high impact journals.

Innovation Policy in Korea, Sweden and Canada: A Comparative Perspective

THIS IS A GENERIC TEXT PUT IN PLACE AS THERE WAS NO PROJECT OVERVIEW

Development of the Bridge Healing Implementation Manual

First implemented in January 2023, the Bridge Healing Transitional Accommodation program offers transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness who have been discharged from hospital emergency departments. The program provides wraparound community supports such as mental health and addiction services to help clients transition to permanent housing. In doing so, the program bridges the gap between hospital emergency departments and community-based social services, thereby better supporting people experiencing homelessness and preventing reoccurring emergency department visits. This project will build upon the existing success of the Bridge Healing program by developing an implementation manual which involves extensive stakeholder engagement with health professionals, social workers, hospital administrators, people with lived experiences of homelessness and other institutional partners. This manual will enable Jasper Place Wellness Centre and other agencies serving unhoused populations to effectively partner with communities and implement Bridge Housing across Alberta and Canada in an effective, sustainable and trauma-informed manner.