British Columbia’s (BC) resident killer whales are listed under the Species At Risk Act as ‘threatened’ and ‘endangered’ for the northern and southern residents, respectively. Contaminants have been recognized as one of the main threats affecting the survival and recovery of these populations. This project will look at the levels of contaminants of concern in […]

The handling and storage of perishables like vaccines are critical to retain medical potency and effectiveness for patient administration. The delivery of vaccines can succumb to several pitfalls such as physical damage, losses in transit and expiration. One of the primary causes of vaccine wastage is a result of heat and freezing of the biological […]

Metabolomics is an emerging field of research that provides insight into health and disease by studying the levels of various small molecules (metabolites) in the body. In this project, we are developing new tools that will improve and standardize methods for collecting and stabilizing fecal samples for metabolomics studies based on the analysis of fecal […]

Feed efficient finishing cattle with none or less severe cases of liver abscesses (LA) will improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the beef industry. The antimicrobial properties of garlic have not been evaluated towards mitigating the severity of LA. Studies evaluating the association between feed efficiency and LA and the integration of emerging feeding strategies […]

Le risque de développer un cancer du sein chez la femme au cours de sa vie est de 11%. Chaque année dans le monde, environ 1 675 000 femmes reçoivent un diagnostic de cancer du sein. D’ici 2020, le coût total des soins pour leurs patients atteindra plus de 2 milliards de dollars par an […]

Actuellement, les médicaments sous ordonnance sont testés rigoureusement durant plusieurs années, d’abord sur des cellules animales et humaines, puis sur des animaux et finalement chez des humains avant de pouvoir être approuvés par une agence règlementaire telle que Santé Canada. Pour certains médicaments, les études cliniques chez les humains peuvent être difficiles ou même impossibles […]

Coffee production with imported beans has doubled in Canada since 2003. From this > 125,000 t of waste is generated most of which ends up in landfill. A significant component of the waste is as the pulp (cascara) and silverskin. In 2019, the Happy Goat Company roasted 50 t of green coffee beans yielding 300kg […]

Proteomics have revolutionized bioanalytical chemistry in the past two decades. However, to achieve deep qualitative and quantitative analysis of complex protein samples a significant amount of instrument time (liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry) is required. The major problem stems from the fact that single protein generates many peptides during typical proteomic sample preparation. Limiting this […]

Cataract surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed worldwide. The surgery consists on the implantation of a prosthetic lens in order to replace the opaque human crystalline lens. Alcon is the leader in the field developing lenses, surgical instruments and pharmaceuticals that are used pre or post-operatively. The aim of this collaboration is […]

Stroke is a devastating disease that causes a loss of blood to the brain and neuronal death. The sustained inflammation caused by stroke is associated with poor outcomes. Currently, there are no effective treatment options. Exciting new studies have shown a link between bacteria in the gut and brain. This has generated significant interest regarding […]

The discrimination between viral and bacterial infections has long been a goal in the field of point-of-care (PoC) diagnostics. Such a diagnostic tool would prevent the over-prescription of antibiotics, a leading cause of antimicrobial resistance. Current standard methods involve sending patient samples (throat swabs, blood, urine) to specialized clinical labs. This usually involves expensive and […]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a kind of chronic neurodevelopmental disorders that detrimentally affect the behavior and development in children. There is a tight need for efficient treatment. Scientific evidences have shown that the gut microbiota as well as their metabolites may mediate the responsiveness to changes in diet (e.g. ketogenic diet). However, clinically relevant […]