Drug-impaired driving represents a significant and increasing threat to the safety of Canadians and there is an urgent need for a convenient, rapid and accurate road-side testing technology for impaired driving. Current solution for roadside drug testing only provides qualitative results, while quantitative detection of drugs currently requires expensive equipment, dedicated infrastructure and specialized laboratory […]

Public safety personnel (PSP) (e.g., police, paramedics) ensure the safety of our communities and are at risk of experiencing traumatic events. In a recent study, 44% of surveyed PSPs screened positive for a mental health condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We must understand the impact of PTSD on PSP and how to treat […]

With the number of eating disorders rising during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Body Brave launched the Recovery Support Program as an online platform for individuals (ages 17 and up) experiencing eating disorder symptoms to access support. In this program, clients are offered check-ins, recovery sessions, and resources using a stepped-care model. In addition to […]

The synapse forms the core unit of information transfer in the brain, and most brain disorders, both developmental and degenerative, are caused by synaptic dysfunction. Understanding synaptic organization is therefore central to both basic research and health research in neuroscience. Our still-evolving understanding of the synapse includes relatively recent recognition that many synapses use multiple […]

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an ideal technique for looking into the body. Lungs, however, give poor quality images due to their low water content, necessary for MRI to work. Currently the best way to image the lungs is with CT scanning, an approach using X-rays. Alternatively, people can breathe in a special inert gas […]

Phthalates are plasticizers used in plastic manufacturing especially polyethylene terephthalate, and polycarbonate. This is predominantly used in food packaging, bottles, cosmetics, infant products, etc., The plastic conversion into ‘microplastics’ along with its plasticizer tends to leach out from the products and cause numerous health and environmental impacts. The major health effects imparted by dibutyl phthalate […]

In this project, we study a connection between graphs (also called networks) and algebraic objects known as ideals. Graph theory is a major branch of modern mathematics, with diverse applications to society and industry such as transportation system modelling and social media marketing. The simple yet fundamental algebraic structure of an ideal encodes important information […]

Many studies worldwide use neuroimaging to investigate whether there are abnormalities in the structure or function of the brain that underlie mental disorders. The sample sizes in these studies are limited because of the high cost of neuroimaging and difficulties in recruiting large numbers of patients if the disease is rare. This is a problem […]

The financial implications of time lost from work due to disability can be severe. Disability insurance coverage plans protect people from possible loss of income. We have found factors that predict the duration of disability benefit claims. However, it remains to be seen whether these associations are consistent. Improved understanding of modifiable factors associated with […]

Conifers retain their leaves in winter and downregulate photosynthesis. Remote sensing of coniferous forests based on measurements of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) seems a suitable tool to estimate forest photosynthesis, but little is known about the effects of downregulation of photosynthesis on the SIF signal. By installing a novel FloX field spectrometer at a coniferous […]

Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University has collected over 1000 narratives written by Ukrainian civilians about their experience of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The objective of this research project is to use the narratives to discover commonalities in the language of the writers and to find whether there are linguistic markers of trauma across the narratives. […]

Total hip and knee replacement surgeries are the second and third most common surgical procedures in Canada, respectively. Opioid analgesics are routinely prescribed to manage pain after these procedures, making orthopaedic surgeons the third-highest opioid prescribers in Canada. However, opioids are not typically more effective than alternatives (e.g., NSAIDs) and are associated with addiction, overdose, […]