Structured lipids, specifically diacylglyceride (DAG) oils, have potential to replace trans fats and oils high in saturated fats such as palm and thus provide healthier oils with improved functionalities and sustainability. However, they are produced using costly and environmentally unfriendly “enzyme in solvent” systems, and have shortcomings when utilized in certain food applications. DAG oils […]

The development of beneficial bacterial inoculant as biopesticide and biofertilizers is directly beneficial to agricultural producers through the preservation and enhancement of crop quality and yield. At present, a limited spectrum of naturally occurring microorganisms have been developed for directed, commercial agricultural applications in Canada. Engage Agro Corp is interested in developing bacterial inoculants with […]

Cognitive scientists typically divide cognition between controlled and automatic processes. This framework construes controlled processes as being voluntary and effortful and automatic processes as involuntarily and effortless. Automatic processes are therefore considered outside the scope of voluntary control. Undermining this notion, studies show that hypnosis – an enhanced form of mental absorption and self-regulation – […]

Breeding tubercles (BTs) are epidermal structures found on the dorsal surface of pectoral fin rays of males bony fish, such as zebrafish. Females do not have BTs on their fins. BTs appear during the sexual maturation of male zebrafish. Males use their fins and BTs for grasping the female to stimulate egg laying. We want […]

Absence seizures are the most common form of epilepsy in children. These patients often experience transient episodes of impaired consciousness, which have an enormous impact on their quality of life. We are proposing to identify the neural substrates for these seizures. These experiments would provide the basis of future experimental studies examining the biological basis […]

The goal of this research is to understand and develop techniques to improve flour performance in bread making, a low margin market which requires some of the tightest flour specifications across all bakery platforms. Standard flour quality testing methods will be compared to more recently developed quality tests as well as experimental methods. The end […]

This project will investigate the genomes of two naturally occurring bacteria. These bacteria are of interest because they can convert wastes from biodiesel and bioethanol production into valuable compounds. This is novel in comparison to other bacteria used for similar processes because these bacteria are generally regarded as safe, naturally occurring, and contain no genetic […]

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by exaggerated weight loss, fear of gaining weight, self-depreciation. It mostly affects young women and is most likely have the highest death rate of any other mental illnesses and of many diseases in general. Anorexia is notoriously treatment refractory and the main explanation is the poor understanding of […]

Arsenic (As) is a contaminant found in ecosystems and drinking water throughout the world; it is a potent human carcinogen. Arsenic levels and speciation are controlled by a series of abiotic and microbial processes. Arsenic toxicity depends on its speciation and proper risk management is linked to predicting As speciation in various environmental matrices. Laboratory […]

Lawson and Cubresa have entered into an agreement to build and install the first commercially available preclinical PET/MRI insert. The overall goal of this proposed research is to integrate the PET insert into MRI systems at both Western University and Lawson and develop initial applications for Canada’s first preclinical PET/MRI system. Initial work will include: […]

Peanut is one of the leading foods that can cause food allergies. An extremely low amount of peanut protein is sufficient to cause mild reactions in people who are sensitive to peanut. Over 90% of allergic reaction cases derived from peanut digestion are related to Ara h 1, a glycoprotein that comprises about 15% of […]

The proposed research project will conduct feasibility studies on the purification and conditioning of industrial, hemicellulose derived C5 sugars from a number of potentially commercial liquor fractions, derived from lignocellulosic biomass. In the first two Mitacs projects, enzyme hydrolysis showed considerable benefits over traditional acid hydrolysis for S2G’s bio-glycol production. However, relatively high enzyme loadings […]