Mathematical modeling of B-vitamin supply in dairy cows – Year two

The B vitamin requirements of cattle were traditionally satisfied via rumen microbial synthesis. However, the B vitamin demands of the modern high producing dairy cow now exceed the synthesis rate by rumen microbes, leading to sub-optimal milk production and efficiency. An increased understanding of dietary factors driving ruminal synthesis and use of B vitamins will […]

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Early warning indicators as tools for freshwater monitoring

A myriad of environmental stressors are threatening freshwater ecosystems. However, monitoring the impacts of these stressors on economically and culturally important native fish populations remains a challenge. Ontario is a large province with hundreds of thousands of lakes, yet knowledge of ecological structure across lakes is limited, particularly for remote lakes in the Far North. […]

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Linking microbiome to eco-industrial function: the in silico and metagenomic exploration of microbial dark matter and taxonomic blind spots

“A large majority of microbes cannot be cultured. Recently, microbiome sequencing has begun to identify the genetic potential of these lineages, often referred to as microbial “dark matter”. By integrating my taxonomic profiling methods with function profiling developed by the academic supervisor, I aim to develop and apply a comprehensive pipeline for microbial dark matter […]

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Linking microbiome to eco-industrial function: the in silico and metagenomic exploration of microbial dark matter and taxonomic blind spots – Year two

The collection of bacteria and archaea in an ecosystem is termed the microbiome. This microbiome is critically important to the structure and function of essentially any ecosystem, providing many ecosystem services, such as growth promotion, nutrient turnover, and impacts on organismal health. The vast majority of these organisms, however, are unknown to science for a […]

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Design and validation of a novel peptide immunotherapeutic for the treatment of dog allergies

Adiga Life Sciences Inc. developed a novel immunotherapeutic platform in which small components (peptides) of allergen proteins are identified and administered in a regimen that causes immune cells to become non-responsive towards the allergens. In a phase II clinical trial, the cat allergy treatment developed by Adiga using this platform reduced allergic symptoms in allergic […]

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Design and validation of a novel peptide immunotherapeutic for the treatment of dog allergies – Year two

Adiga Life Sciences Inc. developed a novel immunotherapeutic platform in which small components (peptides) of allergen proteins are identified and administered in a regimen that causes immune cells to become non-responsive towards the allergens. In a phase II clinical trial, the cat allergy treatment developed by Adiga using this platform reduced allergic symptoms in allergic […]

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Acoustically derived indicators of demersal and forage species productivity in the Strait of Georgia, and their link to the survival of juvenile salmon – Year two

With a rich acoustic dataset available in the Strait of Georgia (SoG), we propose this research to develop a series of acoustic indicators of productivity for forage (e.g. Pacific herring, mesopelagic fish, euphausiids, zooplankton and ichthyoplankton) and semi-demersal (e.g. Pacific hake and walleye pollock) species within the SoG by using robust multi-frequency techniques. Along with […]

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Identification of copy number variation biomarkers in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Copy number variations (CNVs) are an important type of structural variation affecting pathogenesis of complex diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Accurate detection of genomic regions with CNVs is crucial for understanding the etiology of IBD, as these regions contain likely drivers of disease development. Microarray technology provides single-nucleotide resolution genomic data and is […]

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Enhancing water stress tolerance in soybean through phytoglobin manipulations

The purpose of the project is to generate soybean plants able to tolerate whole plant submergence and waterlogging (soil submergence). This will be achieved by inducing Pgb, a gene normally present in soybean and known to confer tolerance to excessive humidity, through genetic manipulations. Correlative studies between Pgb expression and performance under excessive water conditions […]

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Enhancing water stress tolerance in soybean through phytoglobin manipulations – Year two

The purpose of the project is to generate soybean plants able to tolerate whole plant submergence and waterlogging (soil submergence). This will be achieved by inducing Pgb, a gene normally present in soybean and known to confer tolerance to excessive humidity, through genetic manipulations. Correlative studies between Pgb expression and performance under excessive water conditions […]

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