Coral reef regime shifts occur when environmental stressors result in the benthic composition abruptly transitioning from a coral dominated reef to one dominated by macroalgae. These shifts are a key conservation concern and have led to substantial degradation of coral reefs worldwide. In particular, climate-induced coral bleaching is now a leading threat to coral reefs, […]

As fisheries for the Atlantic Sea Cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) develop in Atlantic Canada, effective management will require a thorough understanding of the underlying genetic relationships within and between different populations to assess “genetic health.” Detecting genetic structure, such as differences in allelic frequencies and heterozygosity, is challenging in marine invertebrate species like C. frondosa due […]

Sleep disturbance is one of the major complaints in patients after major surgery, which can impair to postoperative recovery. Exercise may be an effective non-pharmacological intervention to improve sleep for patients with advanced cancer. The main objective of this proposal is to evaluate the relationships between physical exercises and sleep parameters before surgical procedures and […]

High quality Cannabis sativa varieties are needed in Canada since the legalization of recreational Cannabis in fall of 2018. Unfortunately, powdery mildew, caused by the fungi Golovinomyces cichoracearum is a major disease of cultivated cannabis. We propose using high-throughput genotyping tools to map new resistance genes to this pathogen. Our approach will include genome wide […]

Birds and insects who are active at dusk and dawn rely on environmental cues, such as light, to forage. Whip-poor-will are one such bird, and they rely on flying insects that are active during the same periods for food. Which insects, however, is not well understood but is important to know for conservation efforts focused […]

Les stades les plus avancés du cancer sont caractérisés par la présence de tumeurs secondaires appelées métastases. Elles apparaissent suite à la dissémination de cellules tumorales dans l’organisme. Pour cela, les cellules tumorales acquièrent des capacités de migration et d’invasion. Les protéines de la famille des RhoGTPases sont impliquées dans ces phénomènes, il est donc […]

A virtual-reality-based yoga training and assessment platform will be developed as a comprehensive approach for training/improving balance, frailty, and cognitive performance and prevent falls in stroke survivors. The project would have 1) a great therapeutic benefit in terms of increasing rehabilitation outcomes post-discharge and 2) would increase the prevention of further disability. The platform can […]

The largest cost of raising chickens is feed, therefore maintaining chickens in an environment that supports proper nutrition is essential for productivity and profitability. However, nutrient absorption and gut adaptation to luminal inflammatory stress is challenging production efficiency as a consequence of the restriction on the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) and anti-coccidial drugs. […]

Cell-based treatments for chronic metabolic disorders such as diabetes are poised to disrupt conventional treatments based on insulin administration through needles. These treatments involve transplanting cells that can provide the needed hormone or enzyme directly into the patients’ circulation, in principle for years and without human intervention. However, these transplanted cells need to be protected […]

Fungal pathogens of agriculturally significant crops pose a serious threat against global food security. This is exacerbated by the limited classes of fungicides that are commercially available for the farmers and the rapid emergence of resistance against the existing fungicides. Furthermore, resistance against agricultural fungicides can poses serious threat to human health as it can […]

Cori Disease and SRD5A3-linked Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation (CDG) are two rare and fatal metabolic disorders for which there are no cures or therapies. Both conditions result in early-onset developmental delays, greatly hinder quality of life, and result in a rapid degeneration of motor functions. Due to their rarity, research into these conditions is lagging […]

With limited funding available, managers must prioritize which invasive species and which areas need to be managed. This project will involve finding out which sites and species need to be prioritized for management within the Greater Toronto Area. Through formal discussions with different stakeholders in the area and by using existing data (e.g. species distribution […]