The Lil’wat Nation has been situated in its location since time immemorial at which it has also been asserting its inherent right to govern within its traditional territory. The Nation’s current 5-year Strategic Plan (2010 – 2015) calls for an objective to “Increase the production value of on-reserve agriculture”. With this stated goal, the Nation […]

In light of the recent outbreak of Covid-19, it is urgent to find a solution for quick and efficient pathogen detection and elimination. Rapid point-of-need diagnostic tests and monitoring devices are urgently required in order to provide testing and care to those infected. Currently, testing is performed at centralized facilities using specialized equipment for molecular-based […]

Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there is: 1) a worldwide shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for frontline Health Care Professional; and 2) a demand for products which can reduce the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. We plan to assess the use of titanium-based particles to inactivate viruses and bacteria using visible light. The particles can […]

Bold-100 is a promising new drug that has been studied as a treatment for cancer. Because of the way it works in cells, there is reason to believe that it may also help protect against infections with viruses like SARS-CoV2 (the cause of COVID-19). The purpose of this project is to study the effects of […]

Many babies die within the first month of life from infectious diseases. Despite successful neonatal vaccination programs, it is not yet possible to accurately predict if a vaccine will work on a newborn child, at the individual “personalized” level. We need to better understand the mechanism of antibody generation after vaccination to improve immunization programs. […]

Fitness apps are widespread, used by professionals and casual users alike. Existing apps only give examples, they don’t correct. The proposed research closes this feedback loop by using the video camera on mobile phones as an analysis tool to judge and correct the execution of common gym exercises. This is particularly important for weight lifting, […]

Western red-cedar asthma (WRCA) is the most common form of occupational asthma in British Columbia and is caused by sensitivity to a molecule found in the wood called plicatic acid (PA). Patients suspected of having WRCA must complete two inhalational challenges to determine sensitivity to PA, an expensive and time-consuming process. There is need for […]

Currently, elite athletes and their coaches rely on the subjective self-awareness and measurement of muscle force, heart rate, and the amount of blood lactic acid level to monitor body fitness and athletic performance. These methods, however, are not ideal and always reliable due to subjective errors, technological limitations and individual confounding factors that limit the […]

With an increasing concern toward social isolation and loneliness issues in society, there is growing interest in social initiatives aiming to enhance social connectedness within communities. To make such efforts sustainable, the next step would be to evaluate their effectiveness to develop evidence-based practices. The goal of this project is to build a reliable assessment […]

As glaciers retreat, the reduction in area available for melting ultimately causes declines in summer streamflow. In addition, evaporation from newly formed lakes and evapotranspiration from vegetation establishment on deglaciated areas would act to further reduce summer streamflow. However, these latter processes have received little attention to date. The objective of the project is to […]

As glaciers retreat, the reduction in area available for melting ultimately causes declines in summer streamflow. In addition, evaporation from newly formed lakes and evapotranspiration from vegetation establishment on deglaciated areas would act to further reduce summer streamflow. However, these latter processes have received little attention to date. The objective of the project is to […]

Deep Neural networks have revolutionized machine learning and in particular computer vision. The revolution was achieved by a combination of big data, graphical processing units and advances in numerical optimization. In this work we propose to extend and develop machine learning techniques, focusing on deep learning methods for public health and safety applications. We will […]